Poetry as a Cry in the Dark

I call out to you in the dead of night.

Dawn seems so far away.

Enlightenment is shrouded in shadow.

A moment of solitary despair.

A moonbeam of ecstasy
and words appear.

The hoot and screech of owls pivot the changing light.

Even a poet feels the weight of sleep heavy on her eyes, when it was poetry that roused her from her bed.

To rejoice as a poet, you must learn to mourn with bluebells and violets, roost with rooks and crows in tall trees, where a nightingale might sing yet.

Kim M. Russell, 16th April 2019

Image result for paintings and artwork poet and nightingale
Joseph Severn’s painting of Keats ‘Listening to the Nightingale on Hampstead Heath’, ca 1845 – image found on Pinterest

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform  Poems in April Day 16: You are a Poet!

Anmol is our host this Tuesday. He encourages us to celebrate the poetics of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who recently turned 100. He has shared Ferlinghetti’s poem ‘Poetry as Insurgent Art (I am signalling you through the flames)’ and, as Day 16’s challenge, asks us to write a poem entitled ‘Poetry as…’, perhaps in the style of Ferlinghetti.

30 thoughts on “Poetry as a Cry in the Dark”

  1. This is absolutely gorgeous in its word choices and imagery, Kim! ❤️ I love and whole-heartedly agree with; “To rejoice as a poet, you must learn to mourn with bluebells and violets..” 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  2. LOL, this was me on too many nights! Thank goodness for poetry notebooks by the nightstand (in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in a purse, etc). You have to write while that feeling is burning and it’s hard to reconstruct a fire from embers that went dim just to catch a couple hours more sleep.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. Ah, I so admire your take on poets and their poetry — the image is solemn and deeply evocative with the “cry in the dark” so well utilized. I also loved this bit: “Even a poet feels the weight of sleep heavy on her eyes, when it was poetry that roused her from her bed.”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. Yummy….this is a great take on the why’s we seem to always ask ourselves. You paint a true vision of what is like to be an observer of the condition of being alive and in tune with the moment. Loved this.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.