Unravelled

April has unravelled
like a favourite old cardigan.
The sound of distant
traffic died weeks ago,
and the empty town
has lost its orange glow.
We can see all the stars now,
scattered like salt across the night sky.
When did we take our eyes off heaven?
Is this white noise a wish come true?

Kim M. Russell, 20th April 2020

Wake up | Pictures, Stargazing, Sky
Image found on Pinterest

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads NaPoWriMo Day 20 Play it Again in April 2020: When Good Wishes Go Bad

On Wednesday, 20th April 2016, Magaly treated us to a quote from Terry Pratchett, some wise words from her grandmother about wishes, and then she wished for poetry that explores both.

Out task is to write a new poem that illustrates what might happen when a good wish renders a not so good outcome.

I’m merging this prompt with Kerry’s Skylover Wordlist, sourced from Dylan Thomas’s poetry collection Deaths and Entrances, from which the twentieth word is ‘salt’.

23 thoughts on “Unravelled”

  1. An excellent opening image, Kim. I have also noticed how bright the stars are, reminds me of my place in the universe, and how ephemeral and unnecessary my part in all of this is.

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    1. Thank you Kerry. We could never see stars above London. I hope the sky we have in Norfolk is the one that can be seen over London during the pandemic.

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  7. Ah yes, when did we take our eyes off heaven?

    I love that line – and the subtle walk into the philosophical questions it quietly poses. Although I just love it for its simple statement and truths too – as in, if it’s dark and quiet, and nighttime, then hey, look up and see the immense beauty of the cosmos lighting up. It’s truly a thing of wonder. But in a world “on” 24/7/365 and in larger metropolitan areas, constant lighting just snuffs the skies. So in some ways, I’m not sorry for all of this craziness.

    I particularly love your brash and bold (in the best of ways) use of “salt” – it’s perfect for the embracing aspects of all of this – as is white noise too – because there is such a complexity to the effects of “lock downs” etc. – not just on an economic level, or from the health crisis perspective either – but all of this points to more personal journeys too. Perhaps more “spiritual” or “soul searching” …. or maybe that should be searing?!

    At any rate, this is just such a tremendous poem Kim – it speaks with a complexity that is lovely and layered, nuanced and yet just so satisfying.

    Be well and safe.

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  9. There is good, but unacceptable to those in control. Yes, we can almost see to Heaven, the air has cleaned itself. And here the wild animals are coming back to the neighborhoods.
    But while we are fuming about the virus and at the same time the businesses being closed and us restrained to our homes, here our administration is silently gutting our environmental laws so bad stuff will be released when we start back up.
    I can remember before then in my running days how the exhausts from passing cars would choke off my sensitive lungs, how every still morning in the valley there would be covering a large yellow sulphur cloud from the petroleum refineries.
    We will return to this until our leadership has changed masters from $$$$ made to our health and future generations.
    ..

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    1. I sincerely hope that people in the UK have noticed the improvement in our atmosphere and put pressure on the government to ensure it remains clean and pollution free, and that this happens all over the world, Jim.

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