poem © Jeffrey Beaty
written Dec. 31, 2015
24 lines
Times change, and so must I. Appropriate for the beginning of a new year.
This poem began like many of my poems, as a bit of negative maudlin dribble. And then it took a turn for the better. That positive spin was a little bit a conscious choice, but also kind of where I’m at… Trying to break the habits my brain likes to get into and drive outside the “ruts” my grey matter likes to follow. But this turn was also a little what actually occurred, and shows that nothing always stays the same. And if you look hard you can find something to enjoy, be happy or thankful for even in the worst of times.
PULL THE SHADE ON THE NIGHT by Jeffrey Beaty
No sound
A vee of geese
Seen through cold glass
Fly across a darkening sky
My heart
An empty place
Yet full of pain
Like an abscessed cavity
First stars
Begin to shine
Behind thin clouds
That dissolve the light in halos
A sigh
A breeze inside
Blows through my chest
Fanning cold coals I thought long dead
A call
A lonely cry
Turns to a song
By a coyote in the dark
A smile
Seen on my lips
In window glass
As I pull the shade on the Night