on an evening like this
what to do but
swallow the sun
the whole mellow orb
just before it sets —
so the light turns
skin into glass
and the heart grows eyes
to look outside
and see what it could only feel
but watch how it learns
that the sky begins at
your feet
that distance measures
the weight of longing
that reality is designed
to disappoint even
the most tepid
imagination
what to do but
trace the hollow
of the moon
taste the air that once
held your name
and know how
one by one
inch by inch
shadows lengthen
inside you
**************
Hello 2022, I see you come with a Covid surge, night curfews, weekend restrictions and another wave of fear… it’s like 2021 all over again… except, you are the kinder cousin… aren’t you? How are things in your neck of the woods, everyone? Stay safe!
Phenomenal metaphors wonderfully woven with an artist’s expertise
LikeLike
Thanks so much 🙂
LikeLike
“shadows lengthen
inside you”
I love that image.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your opening stanza is magnificent!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I trip over melancholy reading this but that’s okay. It’s where I’m at right now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah melancholy seems as transmissible as Omicron, sadly… here’s to a better year for everyone!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The last stanza feels like acceptance dancing with an inevitable goodbye. So much longing… and resignation.
Around here things are a bit insane on the COVID front again. The number of infected keeps on going up. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for effective treatments.
LikeLiked by 2 people
reading this poem is like watching the very last light of setting sun until completely gone and then waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for the sun to return, and all those shadows trying to creep in. good verse!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Phillip… love that description!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your poem is gorgeous ….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful write, and Covid continues to clutter the hospitals here as well. It seems never-ending and I resent that it is stealing my last years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes over two full years now and it is beginning to get to everyone…stay safe Beverly. Thanks for reading.
LikeLiked by 1 person
But what to do but meditate on things, recent or long ago.
I like your clever word play placemen of the “but” word.
..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jim.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh. I once swallowed the moon in a poem. I like to think about shadows lengthening inside me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow.. I’d love to read that poem! Thanks Colleen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Restlessness and longing are probably enjoying a pandemic of their own. I know that both take their turn in my head and heart as I wonder if there will ever be a time we can refer to as “pst-pandemic”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seriously… it really has been too long.. and even the “new normal” is beginning to fray at the edges… Thanks, Rommy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed, what to do but indulge in poetry and magic!
LikeLike
Indeed! Though with fresh curfews and more covid worries both muse and magician seem to have run away together!!! 🙂
LikeLike