Nighttime…
Nighttime,
I am alone
In
the desert,
Moon,
sand, stars,
My
only companions.
Clouds
have forsaken this land.
The
sky, a wanderer, has left his staff behind.
Knees
lower to kiss the dirt floor,
Heels
press into haunches,
No
pain. The world outside
Blinks
confusedly at the present,
Contends
with the future,
Disavows
the past.
Inside
this cave,
Bread,
water, salt
Keep
me alive. The wind
Feeds
my spirit.
Originally
published in The Cannon’s Mouth, Issue
60 (June 2016), page 66
 |
| Phoenix, Arizona desert skyline at night |
Photo courtesy of Alan Stark
ReplyDeletePhoto link:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phoenix_Skyline_from_South_Mountain_at_Night.2010.jpg
Gonzalinho
Longer version of this poem:
ReplyDeleteNighttime…
Nighttime, I am alone
In the desert,
Moon, sand, stars,
My only companions.
Clouds have forsaken this land.
Distant tribes, the cirrus and the cumulus,
Pasture elsewhere.
The sky, a wanderer, has left his staff behind.
Knees lower to kiss the dirt floor,
Heels press into haunches,
No pain. The outside world,
Persistent as foraging field mice,
Blinks confusedly at the present.
Disavowing the past,
History stands behind
A tall black rostrum.
Wrestling with the future,
A fugitive struggles, trapped by
Four walls in a dream.
Inside this cave,
Bread, water, salt
Keep me alive. The wind
Feeds my spirit.
Gonzalinho