Thursday, September 9, 2021

dante's dart















i remember quite clearly the night the worlds sadness as my own

pink nylon baby-doll pajamas, appliquéd blue flowers & ruching

8 yrs old, hair long & pigtailed the color of cornsilk

kneeling on my bed
pressing against screen of the open window 

pressing 
leaning 
gazing 
into the september nite

late

dark 

quiet

twinkling stars

tasting the lonely despair on the end-of-summer breeze
a parade of heartache & pain leaked into my skin leaving its burn 

i saw an ancient, folded & forgotten mahogany woman pacing to & fro across some cracked damp floor

a solitary soldier cold & wet loosing his humanity with every step

a frightened child with dark eyes hiding from the sharp sting of thoughtlessness

a small boney white dog not understanding how gentle hands can be

a stolen life
a fearful task
a lonely death

dante's dart landed upon my heart

no amount 
of pink groovy psychedelic sunshine could stop that parade upon the fabric of my soul

so i would kneel upon my pink groovy bedspread in my pink groovy sunshine life
every nite
pressing against the darkness 
gazing out 
gazing up 
     at the stars 
wishing for strength
wishing for magic
wishing for enough love to shoulder
dante's dart