Cast out the blind’s reel
and the night peeks in.
Setting’s all the same as it was before:
No shaved hair,
no wardrobe change;
all is as it were,
with a pajama presentation show,
trying to force a deal with the lights
to give a strength that’s never internal.
Waiting at a window for a wandering word
to plummet down through the shingles of my armor,
the comet to pierce through glacial aftermath
where any sense of self has been ashes or frost.
There’s no new sign in the lasting stars,
too distant to know other than an ephemeral name,
too far to call to in confidence,
but I’ve more faith in removed particles than flesh and bone.
I push forth a wilted rose as a bargaining chip;
a promise of quiet in the darkness
or wherever the endless question guides,
and an assurance of peace in a blank garden,
never trampled by visitor or friend.
In the stillness of the sky’s overarching eye,
there’s only a silent nod to perceive,
impassive to the passing observer.
I find in it truth in dried scars on the thigh
while testing the veracity of an edge
or the secret behind a tall window’s ledge.
But there’s no waving embrace.
No trampoline to cushion.
Only a comet’s crater,
scorched and seething with heat.
Panicking in a pajama show I stand above,
all as it were:
Same fear.
Same doubts.
Same insecurities along my legs.
Waiting on a hope to abandon,
or a hidden fire to draw down the blinds
and block off the gaze of the emptiness.
( ❤ Mitch)
