Thursday 18 January 2018

Fresh new eyelids



Somewhere in a river of red Sundays,
in thick drifts of January headlines,
somewhere in black boxes of old crosswords,
perched nervous on a taut wire of sunshine,
I’ve waited for you to give me back my mind.

Somewhere in yellowed photograph albums,
in a million cracks of brittle glassine,
staring at the six-faced dies of mind games,
turning the wheels of dead mundane routine,
I’ve waited for you to tell me what you mean.

The years fall like petalled rain on fingers
and both my hands and eyelashes are wet.
On the highway piled up sullied winters.
You’re still out shooting, eyeballs on target,
but no more waiting, I’m primed to forget.

Eyelids are woven so they’d be drip-dried,
strength’s a dragon kite flying at its own will.
I’ve torn up all the rivers and cracked glassine
and forced the boxes open, dies to spill.
You’ll be in sometime. I’ll be quite civil.

And I’ll claim back each of the shot Sundays,
and every blank box on the crossword grid,
rake back each ribbon of hijacked mindspace
and weave myself a pair of fresh, new eyelids
and brush off all that you did, and undid.



13 comments:

  1. So sad. I can see each item so clearly, like a neglected memory that has returned.

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    1. Neglected memories make great starting points for poems.

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  2. Painful. Poignant. Powerful.
    And I love the strength implicit in the weaving of new eyelids. New Year, new beginnings.

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    1. Yes, probably quite painful - gotta admire her chutzpah :)

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  3. I love claiming the blank boxes of the crossword grid. This is a poem to read and reread. Excellent

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    1. On second thought reclaiming the black boxes might be equally important :) Thank you for your feedback and warm words.

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  4. Sounds like someone has an awful lot to answer for!

    BTW, is it just me, or are other people having trouble leaving comments? I have to hit "publish" at least three times, and this has happened to me on three different computers!

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    1. Nope, it's not just you, I've been having the same issues - something gone amiss across all blogger maybe?

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  5. Must be! I've asked that question on other sites, and I've been told I'm not alone.

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    1. Well, thanks for mentioning it here, I've been wondering if it was just me, too...have to triple click replies on my own blog, which is kinda annoying.

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  6. Hi Nila - to answer the Blogger problem ... for whatever reason it wants our patience - on the LH side bottom it comes up telling us to wait - why I've no idea - but I let it be and just wait!!

    It is annoying, especially when some go through straight away - others we wait! Cheers Hilary

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  7. Hi Nila - I can see the earth cracking, the new life springing ... as we do perhaps at year end - ready for a new beginning. I love the word glassine ... I imagined it was glassy ... but see it's a little more stubborn than I thought ... interesting - cheers Hilary

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    1. A test of patience for sure. Hope you are keeping out of the cold!

      I like the word glassine - nice feel in the mouth, apart from evoking the transparent papery image and its exact meaning.

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