February Poem

Awhile back, I posted about feeling the need to write poetry. That need hasn't let up, and I frankly don't know where it's coming from as I'm definitely not a poet. I am first and foremost a short fiction writer. Maybe what I'm feeling is just the need to write and it doesn't matter what form that writing takes. Whatever the case may be, this is the poem I've been working on.




Night Ride

Hushed voices drift on the dark,
like the bobbing blink of a firefly
first close to the grass
then out of arm’s reach
then back again.
The heavy thunk of water bottles
against their cages,
the click of headlights switching on,
illuminating the pebbled asphalt six feet ahead,
signals go time. Under cover of darkness,
the crunch of tires mingle
with muted yawns
and complaints of lingering sleepiness.
Moving through quiet streets, I follow
the red taillights of those in front, 
the ones unafraid of that which 
the darkness hides.
We roll through flashing yellow traffic lights
slowing the infrequent motorist who is out
while most still slumber, their windows curtained,
their doors closed, inside
their own heads
where possibilities and impossibilities
share the same space.
We pedal away from the town and its lambent glow
of street lamps, to become embraced
by blackness. I slow, unfamiliar
with this new dance partner who leads,
whose grasp obscures the road
beyond the circle of light.
Shapes materialize then disappear;
an imagined whisper breathes against my ear,
coaxing from deep within
my childhood fear of the night,
of the dark,
of the shadows,
of the loneliness
filling me as I tip-toed
room to room, listening to soft sleep breaths.
Longing for my own soft sleep breaths.
Longing for the first hint
of day to reveal that which
the darkness hides,
and I can laugh at the follies inside my head.

Comments

Cathy said…
Love that turn at the end toward childhood...well executed!
JK said…
Cathy, I need you to sit with me and help me learn more about poetry. Tell me everything that you know! :)
Cathy said…
Sometimes I feel like I don't know much :) Always learning! But sure: let's meet to talk poetry!
RKBrison said…
JK, always appreciate your posts. I agree that writing is writing. It doesn't depend on validation from our feelings or the poetry experts -- keep opening the vein and letting it bleed.

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