the middle is all called grey
i can tell these two crows are teenagers
by their hunger and their recklessness
i feed them anyway and they never say thank you
like all youth
their gift is their presence
they haven’t yet learned how to tell time
or rather, they don’t think about time at all
just the way you don’t think about breathing
until you can’t
i hold onto the edge of this curtain
dusty lace and faded white (or is that my hair)
and smile at nothing but birds and sunshine
because it isn’t
silence that haunts you
and to turn away is the same as standing still,
moving forward is no different than sleeping well
beneath a smoky sky filled with endless flight
stars in reverse
.
.
.
.
April 4th, 2013 at 9:22 am
this is . . . haunting? is that the right word? i began with a smile – “their gift is their presence” – but my smile changed to a nod and a sigh before i reached those last lines, and those last lines felt like truth. and really, it all feels like changing truth, from youth onward. i love this.
April 4th, 2013 at 10:51 am
like the way you dont think about breathing til you cant…great metaphor of the way time catches up to us after the teen years….turning away being the same as standing still a great touch as well…intriguing write
April 4th, 2013 at 11:06 am
another letky perfection.
April 4th, 2013 at 11:48 am
That is such a fantastic start to your poem: the crows, teenagers [‘their gift is their presence’], brill, and so typifying.
April 4th, 2013 at 11:51 am
I love this too but am unable to put my thoughts into words. d smith kaich jones articulates it so well.
April 4th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
What DSKJ said…
April 4th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
This poem is superb! From that exquisite portrayal of adolescence as a time of “hunger and recklessness” to the very last line (which I find heartbreaking)! Thank you for a great read!
April 4th, 2013 at 10:43 pm
Reading your work always brings to mind curling up in pajamas next to a fire and reading that book that transforms what you believe is possible. Thank you for that, it is a magnificent gift.
April 5th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
This is really moving, really lovely. I am up in the early hours because I can’t sleep. This made it worthwhile!
April 5th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
Ohhh, love this one. I laughed at the truth of youth gifting their mere presence. Wouldn’t it be lovely to always retain that bold ownership of space?