Sunday Scribblings {The Final Hour}

In the final hour the sun sighs heavy
and surrenders its power to the night
with a white moon of truce,
the crickets trade places with the
butterflies, like night shift workers
waving hello as the day shift slips away,
and the clouds stagger to the earth in a
fit of fire that even the stars hesitate
to put out.

In the final hour I sit alone
dangerously attempting to put
together the pieces of a broken day,
like a puzzle I'm trying to conquer,
each piece with its own counterpart,
one protrusion fitting snuggly into
one hollow curve and when the jagged edges
join arms the trace of an image appears--
first the dark brown eyes, then the
tender mouth with crooked teeth,
soon the freckled cheeks, followed by
the rounded nose.

In the final hour, when the day's
hazy dust has settled in the  open
fields of my soul granting my blurred
vision a moment of unexpected focus
I finally begin to see a life--
fragile, on the edge, tossed around
by the potential of being and yet
anchored deeply in a rich soil
that can't be named because it's owned
by no one, a life that's sometimes
knowable and other times as mysterious
as the deepest places of the sea.

It's here in this final hour my arms
unwind, my heart untangles, my body
bends in prayer and I settle lightly
into the shadows of myself.

Comments

[ceanandjen]

Michelle, this is deeply beautiful and moving. I could feel it. Thank you for such a sweet gift late this Sunday night.

xoxoxoxo to you....

P.S. I love your new profile photo...so lovely are you.

[Helena]

Thank you, it is beautiful. And the new profile photo is lovely.

[ruby]

i think this is my favorite thing that you've written. absolutely gorgeous...

[nel]

just beautiful...nel

[gkgirl]

i especially like
the part of the crickets
trading places
with the butterflies,
like shift workers...

great writing!

[Marilyn]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

[Delia]

I saw the image and fell for it right away--something about the texture of it was just perfect to me. Then, I read your words...(sigh)I loved the images in the beginning, but those last two stanzas just cracked me open. Thank you for sharing this one.
--D.--

[Jennifer (she said)]

I settle lightly into the shadows of myself. I am in the shadows right now. I am trying to spread a little light and understanding around there - maybe pull these pieces of myself up to consider and flip. I love your writing. I love the way you move within it. You're thoughtful and you cover so much ground.

[Melba]

I Love all the colors (on the previous post)! I bought a box of those unbrellas at a dollar store just for Ethan and Maggie to play with. Seeing them again makes me want to get them out, take them apart and use them in a collage.
For some reason I could not post my comment on the previous post.

[MB]

Oh, very nice, Michelle. And beautifully paired with that photo.

[tongue in cheek]

surrendering to peace that the evening brings.

[beansprout]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[deirdre]

I felt these words wrap around my heart. Beautiful.

[sharala]

Great photo--it seems to be a metaphor without words.
I like the last stanza of your poem. Very nice.

[colorsonmymind]

Hmmm what a poet and photographer you are my love.
XOXOXO

[brittany]

the clouds stagger to the earth in a
fit of fire that even the stars hesitate
to put out.

that's beautiful.

[Catherine]

This is beautiful, I love the last stanza, and the image of the clouds staggering to earth in a fit of fire is also beautiful

[annieelf]

simple beautiful. any other words are inadequate.