I washed my hands of remains of yesterday and looked toward the hills,
as the sun beats down upon my skin
the one that sends new leaves bursting from the blackened buds,
the one that tells how the mind is clear one moment
and clouded the next
I have rehearsed the art of gathering sense and pulling oneself together a million times.
Uncertainty is a rose unwilling to bloom, the kind that resolves to wither as time goes,
a whisper of breakage when you are unable to walk away,
a symphony of heartache in the blackness of night,
I hold onto knowledge, it’s blinding light
for what’s better to battle demons with when the stars align
uncertainty is when you are convinced that tofu salad isn’t half as succulent
as you thought it so.
Everyone has fears, everyone has doubts, each and every one of us is a warrior
fighting so that dreams one day can be fulfilled,
I mouth prayer into the abyss of unknown, lie within chaos and strive
to create comfort
I am not the type to embrace black humor,
instead I favour tasted hope that strings across the promenade
when days begin to feel like distant places
everyone is calm on the surface when in reality inward there is brewing a storm.
Nowadays minutes are melting into memories, not a day goes by
without longing to see your face
I am certain light will withstand darkness, so I fill the empty spaces of my poems
I am no stranger to forgotten mugs of coffee, plethora of orchids going dark
and crying in the bathroom,
again the heart is thrown into misadventure, again I rise and disregard
the fogged-up sky;
we can never entirely be sure of anything but we can opt to choose faith
how else do you expect to survive on this planet?
I washed my hands of remains of yesterday and looked toward the hills.
Photo credits: The Open Door by Sam Sidders, Pinterest
Posted on Open Link LIVE #288 @ dVerse Poets Pub
Originally posted for The Tuesday Platform @ Real Toads
Originally posted for “Midweek Motif” @ Poets United
Loved the image of : Uncertainty is a rose unwilling to bloom and when days begin to feel like distant places…!!
Thank you so much, Rajani 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Beautifully written.
Admissibly, I am not the sort of person who has much faith in anything, but I’ve always liked the idea.
Thank you so much, Real Cie 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
Gorgeous poem Love : I mouth prayer into the abyss of unknown, lie within chaos and strive
to create comfort and “minutes are melting into memories”
Thank you so much, Marja 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Beautiful, thoughtful, deep … and I loved hearing you read it.
Thank you so much, Rosemary 😍 so glad you liked it ❤️
I like the circularity of this poem, Sanaa, and the idea that one can wash hands of remains of yesterday, looking forward to ‘new leaves bursting from the blackened buds’. There is hope in the hills. I especially enjoyed the lines:
‘Uncertainty is a rose unwilling to bloom, the kind that resolves to wither as time goes,
a whisper of breakage when you are unable to walk away,
a symphony of heartache in the blackness of night’.
Thank you so much, Kim 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
we can never entirely be sure of anything
but we can opt to choose faith
One sure way of extending the confines with divine ease
Hank
Definitely 😀 thanks for stopping by, Hank ❤️
A beautiful portrait of the quiet courage that gives optimism its soul.
Thank you so much, Rommy 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
The first stanza really speaks to me, Sanaa. Perhaps the winter drought is getting to me. Perhaps I have pulled myself together a millionth time too many…
again I rise and disregard
the fogged-up sky
we can never entirely be sure of anything but we can opt to choose faith
how else do you expect to survive on this planet?
A most worthy question in conclusion. And thank you for the brilliant reading. Always a pleasure.
Awww gosh! ❤️ Thank you so much, Kerry 😍 so glad you enjoyed it! ❤️
“so I fill the empty spaces of my poems” the poem is a long drawn out sigh, a straightening of the shoulders, and a determined gaze … beautiful
Thank you so much, Margaret 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Thought provoking. We cannot be sure of the outcome of our lives but we can choose faith or sometimes faith chooses us in spite of our resistance and I agree, it is unimaginable surviving in these troubled times without some dimension of spirituality. Enjoyed this very much.
Thank you so much, Cressida 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
I am hoping that light can withstand this darkness! We do have to wash our hands of yesterday as we move into the future. Hopefully, into more light!
Thank you so much, Mary 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
I really love how you found that beacon of hope in the end. They say that limbo is even worse than the penance of hell… to not really know is a torment…
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Choosing hope and faith is the way to go, when one is young and full of dreams. Beautifully done, Sanaa. I love the title of this prompt. It sparked a depressing recap of the current news, but it was pain that needed to find words.
Thank you so much, Sherry 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Sanaa, this is such a lovely write! Hope must spring eternal.
Thank you so much, Linda 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Lots of nice comparisons, figures of speech that I liked, Sanaa. A love that is true in the light but then in the dark subsides is very suspect.
..
Thank you so much, Jim 🙂 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
I like the way the narrator analyzed the situation to convince themselves as they related the situation. If only more of us would do that as we encounter the difficulties of life. You certainly have an engaging writing style Sanaa!
Thank you so much, Robin 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
The poem reminds me of Dickinson’s ‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers -‘. So positive and so hopeful in the midst of chaos. Love the deep faith each word exudes.
Thank you so much, Sumana 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
In the end, how we live with uncertainty is a choice. I love that. Thank you, Sanaa.
Thank you so much, H. Hennenburg 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
Nice. You capture the human spirit of doubt and uncertainty as well as hope. Well done!
Thank you so much, Myrna 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
“I have rehearsed the art of gathering sense and pulling oneself together a million times.”
Stunning line Sanaa
So many positive affirmations in this poem
Happy Wednesday
much love…
Thank you so much, Gillena 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Much🌹🌷🌻love
This is beautiful and uplifting. Choosing faith is the wisest choice in the game of survival.
Definitely 😀 thanks for stopping by, Vivian ❤️
A thoughtful and thought provoking piece that speaks to the title, with compelling and emotive lines of poetry. One in particular that stood out for me: “a symphony of heartache in the blackness of night” … poignant and powerful.
Thank you so much, Wendy 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
I love this and the prompt. “I am no stranger to crying in the bathroom”.
Thanks!
Thank you so much, Yvonne 😀 so good to see you ❤️
Oh, your title says it all. As it’s often in those twilight hours that uncertainty intensifies.
And I like this a lot, “instead I favour tasted hope that strings across the promenade…” as it captures the kind of hope needed even when a storm is brewing inside. Choosing faith sounds like a better option, because we can never be entirely certain. Deep and spot on piece, Sanaa.
Awww gosh! ❤️ Thank you so much, Khaya 😀 so glad you enjoyed it! ❤️
I love your use of the first line becoming the last line.
“uncertainty is a rose unwilling to bloom”.
Thank you so much, Sara 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
I really love this, Sanaa! So many wonderful, beautiful phrases–and even a smile with the tofu salad. I think uncertainty is a constant state of being for most of us, but I love the hope in your poem.
I also love hearing you read it.
Awww gosh! Thank you so much, Merril 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
The cycle of returning to the same sentence, in the end, feels like a different type of washing… to finally be rid of the past and go on with a new sense of hope.
The rose metaphor I felt… those roses that really just tries and never really blooms I have seen.
Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
Such a long road to the full heart — so much yearning and heartache help full it up — and resonated by the poems we write, I think. Whatever dance we engage with the Other, there is a dance to between the heart and our poems.
Thank you so much, Brendan 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
I think I will print your final line and post it on my computer! Beautiful write.
❤️❤️❤️
This is beautiful Sanaa, and timeless. I Iove the twists and turns you’ve expressed here.
Thank you so much, Kenyan 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
Still fantastic the second time around. 🙂
Thank you so much, Linda 😀 so good to see you ❤️
A wonderful poem Sanaa! Uncertainty is really a shadow that tends to follow us around. Your descriptions are vivid and cut to the core. I love this line….
Uncertainty is a rose unwilling to bloom, the kind that resolves to wither as time goes,
Your closing says it all… we do have the option of faith to see us through life on this planet!
Thank you so much, Dwight 🙂 so glad you liked it ❤️
A wonderful cyclical journey examining the nature of uncertainty.
‘Uncertainty is a rose unwilling to bloom, the kind that resolves to wither as time goes,
a whisper of breakage when you are unable to walk away,
a symphony of heartache in the blackness of night,’
So beautifully put, and I love the way your poem ends on an optimistic note. Lovely to hear you read!
Awww gosh! Thank you so much, Ingrid 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
~~~ ‘minutes melting into memories’ those words in this beautiful poem will stay with me. Thank you, lovely Sanaa.
Thank you so much, Helen 😀 so good to see you ❤️
The longing in this is palpable.
Thank you so much, Ken 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
you have a very soothing voice!
If only it were so easy to wash our hands of all the unwanted … we must hold onto hope
Thank you so much, Kate 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️