Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The Dark

 


The dark embraces everything,
last night on the beach, looking
for Jupiter and Saturn,
winter wind cold on our legs and faces,
eyes looking up, at the chunky half-moon.
We even saw Mars. 

It was solstice, the shortest day of the year,
and now slowly the earth will tilt us
towards light again - so swift, the seasons,
now that I am old, the numbers
climbing up so fast. 

I emerged out of darkness, as we do,
as we all do, and strove towards
sunny days and blue sky.
Friends helped me, and dogs
helped me more, till my heart
healed itself like a craggy old bunion
that I polished until it shone
like a pearl and I taught it to sing.

I believe in the night, the poet said,
though nights once brought terror
and pain to a shivering child;
they are calm and safe now, with my bed
and my books, and dreams mostly
of moving into new places
that will slowly, over time,
turn themselves  into homes.


The italicized lines are from Rilke. This poem was inspired by Wild Writing by Laurie Wagner, and Rilke's poem, "Night".

6 comments:

  1. Wishing you peace, good health, blessings in this Season of Holidays! I appreciate you ....

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  2. dreams mostly
    of moving into new places
    that will slowly, over time,
    turn themselves into homes

    What a lovely expectation in times of crisis currently being experienced. Happy hols Sherry, stay safe!

    Hank

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  3. Yes, new places will turn into homes.. we adapt, then accept, then love and they love us back in return. Beautifully written, Sherry.

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  4. May all the new places you go become homes!

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  5. I love the idea of emerging from the darkness. We must all do that in this new year. And yes, Sherry, wherever you live you make a home in the most wonderful sense.

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  6. This is a good poem Sherry, it resonated with me. New places can, with our help, turn into homes. I hope you saw the conjunction. We've had nothing but cloudy (dark) nights.

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