between the lines

it’s june and i sit before this fire
wearing socks and a big fleece blanket
wondering how it is that just last week

i sat outside in the breeze dripping
sweat with my feet in a bucket of water
and i was sad then and i am sad now

and it was may then and it is june now
and life skitters away before me on
slippered feet that make no sound

and i think about change and
the way it no longer
interests me

and can’t decide if that’s right
or wrong or somewhere in between but
mostly i think about silence and

flowers and reading books that take me
to places i’ve never seen, no, not places,
i don’t care about places, i’ve never

cared about places, it’s lives i visit
in the pages of books, hearts i hear
beating at midnight and dawn

and sometimes, in summer, i stay up
reading all night just to listen and
wonder and watch the sun rise

on someone else’s

horizon

.
.
.
Linking up with the fabulous dVerse poets for Open Link Night, join us!

31 Responses to “between the lines”

  • honey Says:

    i think this is my favorite…of them all. well, until the next one!

  • MR M Says:

    like staring at the lightning in the distance —-but the showers never come?

  • Robin aka Gotham Girl Says:

    With your words and photo, I can feel myself sitting out in that field watching the sun go down. Beautiful!

  • Debi Says:

    “on someone else’s horizon” just killed me. made my heart tear up a bit. i know. i know. beautiful and heartbreaking and the truth of life.

  • beth Says:

    another one of my favorites…by you !
    i don’t love places either necessarily….but the lives of others, oh the lives.
    and i used to crave change….not anymore….and i think that’s perfectly wonderful.
    xo

  • Vanessa Matthews Says:

    Thoroughly enjoyed this, kind of where my head is at too at the moment. Trying to hold on and sit tight right where you are, but change keeps forcing things whether you want to go with it or not. And I envy that image of sitting reading and watching the world as the sun rises. Lovely write. Thanks.

  • Natasha Says:

    The passion for the words, the characters, the love of the adventure to be lived vicariously through wonderful stories and moments…I can smell the pages…they smell different just before the dawn, when the sun comes up over that horizon…this breathes life into my weary bones, and makes me long for vacation when I meet my lover between the sheets (pages that is!) Just an outstanding write…loved it…and yes…I call favorite on this one

  • brian miller Says:

    life skitters away before me on
    slippered feet that make no sound
    great lines….you really set the scene well…change whether we want it or not happens…and books have always been a place i retreat to as well…yes the lives more than the places…smiles.

  • Monisima Says:

    I love this poem. I love your blog:)

  • Joe Hesch Says:

    Spectacular piece, Kelly!!!

    It speaks of someone who has seen enough in life and is interested in more, but in the human “more” found not on street corners in Paris, unless they’re “humans” found on the pages of books.

    Loved this, dear. Really touched me! xo

    ~ j

  • ayala Says:

    This is amazing…so honest and lovely. I have always loved where books take me as well 🙂

  • claudia Says:

    love this…and love to get caught up in books and become part of someone else’s life…yeah…def. it’s the lives, not the places..

  • Louise Says:

    Truly love this poem….you speak so much from your heart. I find a lot of solace from reading & getting wrapped up in a story, too….beautiful write 🙂

  • PamRosypp (@Pamrosypp) Says:

    This is exquisite. I really love “and it was may then and it is june now
    and life skitters away before me on
    slippered feet that make no sound” and the passion you speak of to escape in to other lives found amongst the pages .. how lovely.

  • hedgewitch Says:

    and i think about change and
    the way it no longer
    interests me..

    Really got me there, right in the hollow center. I don’t think I could make it without those paper lives that are the only connection that brings comfort some days…fine writing here–involving, subtle, sad with a weight way beyond melodrama.

  • laurie kolp Says:

    Love the stream of consciousness in this. Summer is a great time for contemplation. I especially like:

    life skitters away before me on
    slippered feet that make no sound

  • Daydreamertoo Says:

    This is sad and yet, not sad either. Sad because time does skitter away and yet, not sad because you don’t seem to care anyway. Doing what you’re doing, writing, reading, enjoying, it doesn’t matter.
    I’m with you on the being cold though. Cold, wet and windy here today too.
    Lovely writing!

  • Mark WIndham Says:

    Perfect sound and mood to match the feeling, the night and the sunrise.

  • Audrey Howitt Says:

    I resonate so much with this piece–a great write!

  • Frida Says:

    This creates a lovely mood, perhaps a bit melancholic.

  • Pat Byers (Tilda) Says:

    wonderful read Mrs M. it always is, of course.
    in fondest of thoughts, tilda

  • Madeleine Begun Kane Says:

    Passionately and beautifully written!

  • LDowns Says:

    I’ve been at the place you describe so beautifully, too often. Your photo and verse remind me of a chilly August we spent in fleeces in the Fingerlakes last summer. So glad to find your site. Favorite line “and i think about change and the way it no longer interests me”

  • Poetical Psyche Says:

    really nice thoughts here. I’m in the same boat, was actually thinking the same weather related thoughts myself. As it was in the 90’s a little over a week ago, and it’s barely hit 60 this week, much, much colder in the evening. Yeah, totally agree about books, it really is about the characters, but through the characters the places are then drawn more fully to the reader’s mind. Watching the sun rise is a magnificent site, one I rarely get to see, unless I happen to wake up really early. Terrific piece. thanks

  • Jennifer Richardson Says:

    I love the languid, stretching-out
    feeling
    of this….the sadness even feels
    delicious.
    -Jennifer

  • Tigerbrite Says:

    This is lovely. Nothing like the freedom of staying up all night reading a day dreaming.

  • aka_andrea Says:

    I love this and frankly feel as if I am living it myself right now. Thank you.

  • Steve King Says:

    This is so beautifully reflective, and it flows so effortlessly we are captured in your feeling before we even suspect it. This is one of my favorites of yours. Outstanding writing.

  • Anna Montgomery Says:

    How I miss staying up half the night reading. As a kid I could usually finish a book in a day. I like to read, reread, and return to your work though. One of the things I love about it is it grabs my attention, your art is not meant to be consumed but engaged.

  • Maery Rose Says:

    I agree with Honey. The best until the next and the next. I love your poems!

I cherish your comments...