These Sunsets
Wave goodbye and wish me well
for roads yet conquered lie ahead
pockmarked, marred by concrete swells
touched by souls alive and dead
their footsteps washed by sands so fine,
but not mine.
Streets split to form two separate paths
one light, one dark in fading light
both grasped by time and its aftermath
and weeds that tangle, creak, and fight
as roots and glowing ghosts collide,
on the other side.
A barrier of molten gold
put up by no one said or known
that waxes, wanes with tales untold
its peak worn down by winds once blown
while voices hiss of pain and loss,
and walls to cross.
I take a step toward lands unseen
the future fire in my hair
gasping in their darkened sheen
my throat closed tight, devoid of air
when an alley appears with no signs to stake it,
so I take it.
The moon shines angel white above
pure as need and innocence
with eyes that witness earthly love
rays gently stroking a picket fence
awaiting me in fields of clover,
to be leapt over.
I lift my leg and skirt the gate
my fingers grazing chipped blue paint
not hindered by the hand of fate
though cautiously, or else I faint
I lie down in the dewy grass,
and sassafras.
Tomorrow dawns a crystal day
my options spread like blades of green
each promising as empty trays
in wait behind a silver screen
but laughter hits me, the greatest prize
and these sunsets pale
beside this sunrise.
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Submitted on May 01, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 6 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAXABB XCXCDD EFEFGG HIHIJJ KXKXLL MNMNOO XHXHPXP |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,321 |
Words | 254 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 7 |
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"These Sunsets" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/88437/these-sunsets>.
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