I wrap myself in darkness
to escape the blinding
light of every day:
the cup of early morning tea,
the cheerful radio host,
and birdsong in the garden,
when all I crave
is the quiet of the grave.
I wait for the end of a day
when there is no moon,
only frosted stars
in an otherwise black night,
and the quiet flight of bats
coming home to roost.
Darkness every day:
quiet grave, no moon, black night,
quiet flight of bats.
Kim M. Russell, 17th September 2024
Image found on Reddit
It’s Tuesday, and I am opening the dVerse Poets Pub for Poetics with a prompt about endings.
It was inspired by an email I received in May from the Literary Hub, in which Emily Skaja suggests 50 ways to end a poem. I chose eight with which to end our poems about the end of something, such as: the end of a season, a relationship, a story, a letter, a journey, a dream, a life, the world, etc. Poets choose one ending, and I ended with an erasure, or blackout, of my own words, which was fitting for the topic, and then it turned into a haiku.
The first draft of my poem was written during an online workshop I took part in last week with Mslexia, entitled ‘Jumpstart your muse’, and an image they shared of Carol Marsh (Lucy) enjoying tea and crumpets in a coffin while taking a break from filming Hammer’s ‘Dracula’, 1958. My poem just happens to coincide with Dora’s Quadrille prompt!
writing in north norfolk 
I really enjoyed the mix of dark and light and with the image it was really funny.
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Thank you, Björn. I was really taken by that image.
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Love the ending tercet, summarizing the quiet end of the day in darkness.
I love the process of your ending – an erasure poem/haiku. Would be interested to try this in our MTB session. Please share Emily’s 50 ways to end a poem. Thanks for hosting.
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Thank you so much, Grace, and I will email you Emily’s 50 ways (to leave your lover – only joking!).
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Interesting haiku ending
much🤍love
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Thank you, Gillena, with much love.
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I love love that image of Lucy enjoying an undead moment! That’s my new idea of a vampire.
An excellent take on vampires waiting for a (night) life.
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Thank you, Nolcha!
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Suicidally cute and ending with a grateful sigh that the rest is silence.
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Thank you, Brendan.
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The shrinking of both the words and images is very effective. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe.
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A dark poem from you Kim! I loved the photo which made it funny and not creepy ☺️💕
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Thank you, Christine.
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Your poem is about something we all think about. How will the end of our days take place. Well done.
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Thank you, Dwight.
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Great poem Kim, and a marvellous photo!
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Thank you, Kim!
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A brilliant ending “quiet flight of bats” to a brilliant poem. I love it. 🦇
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Thank you, Lesley!
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I found the opening so poignant, the contrast between the rather vacuous but familiar twitter and the internal longing for something much darker.
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Thanks Jane! I often have days like that.
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I understand. The ambient mood remains on the outside. Sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn’t.
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excellent. The grave awaits with the patience of one assured of victory. And the haiku summary really works. Thanks for the prompt!
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Thank you so much, Eric!
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Until the day meets the end of night and becomes a deeper silence.
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I hope this isn’t true, Kim!
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Occasionally, Judy, I have a day where I can’t wait for the day to end. I had one last Friday.
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Just glad it isn’t every day, Kim. Sometimes I have those days as well.
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Cleverly done, Kim. I thought it was a depressed person until I got to the end, and then I read it again knowing who it was about. What a great photo!
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Thank you, Lisa!
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You’re welcome, Kim.
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An interesting prompt, Kim, and you “nailed it” ekphrasticly speaking 😉
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Thanks Lynn. I love your intended pun!
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😉
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certainly an ironic photo. how celluloid is meant to deceive….
I admit, the scene you paint, of peace, is inviting ~
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Thank you, Michael. The photo is fun, but I wouldn’t be comfortable eating crumpets in a coffin.
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OH MY!! Before I saw the image, I had visions of you in deep, deep trouble. And then? Everything instantly became wonderfully funny. Great challenge, Kim.
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Thank you, Helen!
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A provocative and poignantly crafted response to your prompt, Kim! Death is indeed life’s perfect shadow, and no ending is more perfect than death.
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Thanks so much, Chris.
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This works so well, Kim. I love the ending and the image you chose.
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Thanks Sara, I’m delighted you like it.
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This seems vampiric with bats and avoiding the light. For some reason I was also reminded of T. Hardy’s “Far From The Madding Crowd” (O for some peace and quiet) 🙂 and love the way you ended it.
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Thanks Paul!
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