I am bone weary,
sockets containing
eyes, heavy lipped
for sleep.
It will not come.
Darkness is shadow
scudding through
crow's feet,
minutes clawing slowly
down the face of clocks
My heart breaks
in distance
for the words
futile longing,
how we will
survive the drowning pool,
it conspires to beach us
on separate islands
a bird falls into the sea
his feathers rot
the wax melts from the sun,
Zeus refuses to say why
why happiness
when sadness came
so easily.
I wonder of Gods
and their mercy,
how simply
they can burnish gold.
But love?
How intransient it can be.
Stolid and unmoving,
the way hearts work.
Recall dismembered thoughts
drove pitchforks through tongues
yet we survived, disclaiming
what was on our flesh
seemed enough
no hurt befell a friend
or enemy but knowing impossibility
was love's second best defense
We wile away hours; enjoy minutes,
the skin under fingernails,
to smell, breathe
and inhale each other
winners at a losing game
but we play on
see if a universe
could smile for one moment,
allow us to see a single time,
a bird fly free
to go home
where it deserved to be
Author notes
I used the title as the prompt, hope that was ok
In a list
A contest entry
- a bird falls into the sea by hilly.
1000 points, ended July 20, 16 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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minutes clawing slowly
down the face of clocks
i don't want to sound like a stupid teenager, but that was wicked. there's no other word for it. i loved it.
also, just the concept of the universe smiling so a bird could fly out, wow. and i thought the first stanza was a great way to start the poem. -
such longing...
"We wile away hours to enjoy minutes
with the skin under fingernails,
to smell, breathe and inhale each other"
-
I've been a winner in the same losing game for quite some time now. Every time I think I've figured out how to play someone changes the rules. The 'looking but no touching' rule is the one that's the hardest to accept for me. All I can say is that the god of longing must be ecstatic over having such a devoted follower....me. Best wishes in the contest.
Sincerely,
Leo Long
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When the waters parted and the sand caught the bird in its hands, love still soared. Every moment that hope claws at the heart it makes forever feel like a foe not a friend and your images cascade like honey catching all my flying thoughts, holding me to the pace of your words. Each description and symbol another toll of a bell that builds on its echos till all the chambers in this heart echo. The bird -- pinions found -- flies beyond my reach and I can only leave kisses on the wind and around the entrances to dreams.
Love Tom B.
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Superb
A very fine write, with excellent imagery. I liked it just the way it is. Thanks for sharing this one with us.
. Rewarded 4
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I like it.
good write.
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