Gathering Strength

beyond the steady drumbeats

            within my skull,

pulling at my temples like the tide

coaxing the shore back into her womb,

the empty parts of me are filling

            --slowly--

 

dawn dreams on the far side

            of paned windows,

spotted with ill-care and discontent,

staring through me as disappointed deities:

            I have not the strength

            to wipe clean their ailing eyes

           

just one more day -- perhaps two --

            I shall remain here,

in this clapboard cave, muddled by shadows

cast from calcium deposits and fingerprints,

            ignoring the clamor of children

playing shadow tag on an empty street

 

I shall run a bath -- scented with lilac and lavender --

two cups of the Dead Sea to abrade my flesh

            until I am pure -- translucent --

            as the paper-thin skin of an angel

                        waiting to be reborn

Reviews

[NA]

wow...where do you come up with things like this, I just love the way you word stuff...it's so beautifully seasoned..really enjoyed :) x

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so very much, my friend. I'm humbled!

[Beccy]

Such days come to us all. Somehow, we mostly manage to move on, but it's truly quite often a struggle.
For me, this is ' Stop the world, I wan't to get off,' writ large.

Beccy.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you for this review, Beccy.

[sanya]

REALLY AWESOME.................... JUST LOVELY

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much!!!!!

[Jack...]

It seems at times each day begins like this or ends like this, depending on how you look at it. Some look for only the strength to wake up the next day, some look for strength to help them face what comes in that day and some look to the future and seek strength to make it through one more day so it is a step closer. I believe that we gather our strength via what we look forward to. the goals we set, the fun we plan, an upcoming vacation, a night out with friends, recieving a new book in the mail. These give us strength to move forward. It is only when we have nothing to look forward to that this strength becomes so very elusive.

I remember my mother, when dealing with us a children often saying, "give me strength." I always wondered who she was talking to, but now I realize they must have been listening.

Sarah, once again your poem was magical and a delight to read.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Jack. I'm glad this one resonated with you...it was one of those pieces that sort of wrote itself yesterday.

[Troy Henson]

This one I really enjoyed Sarah. The struggle within sometimes goads us to believe we simply can't find it within ourselves to gather strength. This piece lifted as I read and took me from that fine line of frustration into acceptance and the willingness to succeed:)

Regards.
Troy

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you, Troy. Your words mean a lot!