Lullaby
sunbreak the black sky
shrink shadows of my lost touch
and return home to my patient hands
wind whip a willful whisper across time
s–t–i–t–c–h my speaking lips shut
slip a muted message along sinew stretched thin through
tides walloping waves against sharp, rocky shore
pull my desire through rip current tow
and drown every wish that cannot swim across the ocean
swelling fire consumed my mind’s dry desert lands–
a waking nightmare incinerating soft sheets like helpless clouds
crawling to cover what’s left of my resplendent refraction
through atmospheric pressure that bends
my veins branching & quivering in summer storm’s approach
heartbeat synching between blasts of thunderclap crash
before a bough breaks
and all I cradle falls:
everything,
baby.
everything.
[ænd]
all.
16 thoughts on "Lullaby"
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The s’s muscle powerful here, H.A. Love s–t–i–t–c–h :
s–t–i–t–c–h my speaking lips shut
slip a muted message along sinew stretched thin
Great movement and tension throughout. especially love:
pull my desire through rip current tow
and drown every wish that cannot swim across the ocean
Love how you use shape and space to open and draw more emotion, and the bracketed [ænd]:
and all I cradle falls:
everything,
baby.
everything.
[ænd]
all.
Thank you, Pam! I appreciate the care with which you read. So glad you like this one.
Pam did a great job analyzing the poem for all of us! well done!
She sure did! Thanks for reading, Linda. : )
wild contrast between the noisy second and third stanzas and the gentle rhythms of a lullaby. love the play with Rock-a-bye, baby
Thanks, Gaby. Yeah, the goal was to have the poem slow quite a bit towards the end.
This feels like how I want end of day to feel and I love it: (thank you – so good to see you again!)
wind whip a willful whisper across time
s–t–i–t–c–h my speaking lips shut
slip a muted message along sinew stretched thin through
Thank you, Arwen! What a major compliment. : ) I’m so happy you like this one, and that it makes you feel the way you wish to feel at the end of a day. It is wonderful to see you again, too! Happy June, friend. <3
Structure propels this one flowing sentence from beginning to end. Hooked from the opening line and never released, I am deeply effected by this piece
Thank you, L. I am glad you found this piece so compelling. Thank you for reading. 💜
This got better for me with every read. One of my favorites from you. They way you put words on paper is superb!
s-t-i-t-c-h
Thank you, Jeremy. I appreciate that you enjoyed this one…and that you read it more than once. Glad you like it as much as you do!
Wind whip a willful whisper is gorgeous alliteration! Thanks so much for sharing your poem 💜
Many thanks, S.L.! Sometimes I overthink such elements in my own writing. I appreciate your thoughtful words. Thank you for reading! 💜
I love the consonance and sound landscape of this piece: sunbreak the black sky is such a strong opening image
Thanks, Shaun! I always appreciate your kind words. Thank you for reading!