There is yellow on the leaves;
love of bare November days
and frost— it makes me wonder as to why
one prefers Spring,
it can never be half as glorious as
shades of grey and naked sky that scatters emotion
out into the open.
It’s nice when there is something other than
existential ache covering your bones.
I stand in front of the cherry oak dresser and
glance at cowl-neck draped waist
white slip dress, dab on lip-gloss
and realize that nonchalance often comes with
borrowed texture–
I see myself and yet, there is something that
doesn’t quite feel familiar when the light hits,
it’s almost as though a looking-glass world that hints
at the future.
The ground shifts, and I am led to a narrow pathway
past boundaries that have been destroyed,
well-timed and soft,
beyond the rubble and fractured walls, smoke seeps
from the blackened earth and rises
from the ashes of evergreens and oaks,
I am made to understand that this is somewhat like
an inner landscape.
I am in awe, for there are strawberry stars that await,
a long list of journeys
and a map of trials and tribulations to my name,
not necessarily meant to overwhelm,
but rather to prepare me for what’s coming.
Tell me, do you ever listen to the song that morning
sings? Have you ever observed
the red-winged blackbirds that echo over the marsh,
there is both serenity
and sadness in knowing the significance of it all.
The sky is suffused with a deep blush,
as the room comes back into focus
and I am made to stare back again at the reflection
in the mirror, only this time,
the woman gazing back at me feels more confident.
Maybe, someday I’ll know what I am doing.
Photo credits: Pinterest
“November comes and November goes, with the last red berries and the first white snows.”
by Elizabeth Coatsworth 🌹
24 Responses
I love the way you describe the travel in such a dreamlike way… and I love strawberry stars.
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad you enjoyed it! 💄❤️
A lovely Aubade
I loved this line:
“It’s nice when there is something other than
existential ache covering your bones.”
Thank you so much, Christopher 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
A stunning time slip aubade, Sanaa, and, as ever, fantastic use of colour. I love these lines about Spring:
‘it can never be half as glorious as
shades of grey and naked sky that scatters emotion
out into the open’
and the shift
‘past boundaries that have been destroyed,
well-timed and soft,
beyond the rubble and fractured walls, smoke seeps
from the blackened earth and rises
from the ashes of evergreens and oaks’
to
‘…strawberry stars that await,
a long list of journeys
and a map of trials and tribulations to my name’.
Awww gosh! Thank you so much, Kim 😍 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
The dream-like quality absolutely transfixes you, and the imagery just carries you into a landscape of life that is filled with mystery and longing and beauty. What a wonderful poem, Sanaa! I so enjoyed it.
Thank you so much, Dora 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
Sanaa, this is one of my favorite poems of yours to day. I adore how you approach the vision and return from it. I love how the smoke from the burnt trees takes you there and especially this:
“I am in awe, for there are strawberry stars that await,
a long list of journeys
and a map of trials and tribulations to my name,
not necessarily meant to overwhelm,
but rather to prepare me for what’s coming.”
and how your vision changes you. Wonderful writing to the prompt <3 <3 <3
Thank you so much, Lisa 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you! 💄❤️
(and thank you for the lovely prompt) 🥂
to day = to date
❤️❤️❤️
Wow!
An enchanted take on the prompt. Expertly done.
Thank you so much, Susan 😀 so glad you enjoyed it! 💄❤️
Such a subtle evocation of time travel, Sanaa, and a reminder that we all travel time in our imagination and reflections…
Thank you so much, Andrew 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
I love the ambiguity–is this a young woman imagining the future, or an old woman imagining the past?
Thank you so much, Alexandra 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
This looking-glass upon the interior landscape and the quests we are invited there (with poems, no less!) is lush and sacred. Tend this place well, friend.
Thank you so much, Brendan 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Excellent. I enjoyed how you did this. Well done.
Thank you so much, Bill 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
So many wonderful parts. I especially love these:
“realize that nonchalance often comes with
borrowed texture– “
“Tell me, do you ever listen to the song that morning
sings? Have you ever observed
the red-winged blackbirds that echo over the marsh,”
Thank you so much, Melissa 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️