Thursday, 19 November 2020

A Poem a Day (305): Flicker

 

I almost wrote about sleep as I was kept awake by some strange whirring sound last night that’s still going on. Houses are weird characters. Buzzing like a humming machine. Windows are eyes in dreams. Do small hobbits live in fridges? And why does being tired make you sneeze? Answers on a postcard please.

 

Flicker

Switchback waiting. Insouciant curve.
Songbirds caught, wrung out on wires taut,
hung in the dripping sun to dry out.
It comes in waves, stops to check in,
tricks you into burning what’s in the stove.
Gingerbread takes me back to childhood,
a home within a home, spun truly. But
this web is finely knit, dew its ornament,
diamond sparkles in a cluster-thick splash
of yearn. Leaves whisper ragged on breezes,
sunlight simpering in and out of sound.
These days part and turn to speak again,
embracing time on stop. It bends, depends.
Stop and start. “Tread wisely as you go.”
“Have some thought for others.” This space is.
“What pays the bills?” “Lessen your impact.”
Earth unveils roots, feels every footstep.
Flicker in, flicker out. It will all stop one day.
 
Copyright Vickie Johnstone, November 19, 2020

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