August evening

 

Image credit : Pixabay

The street lights, for some reason, aren’t on today

and in the dark, even rain comes on tiptoes

the traffic’s still gridlocked beneath the windows 

but it’s quieter, because light has got a way

to amplify sound. One streetful of darkness

has dialled down urban angst and calmed the restless.

 

The balcony here  wears no trellised shadows

no umbras, penumbras of leaves filigreed

against the walls – those arabesque patterns need

a strong light, a municipal lamp that glows

at railing height. No one’s willing to disturb

this chiffon silence, the cars crawl past the kerb.

 

The streetlights  haven’t been switched on this evening

a minor malfunction, human or machine

a sensor perhaps that hasn’t signalled green.

Some epiphanies only darkness brings,

that light fails to show. A small error has led

to a darkened lane, cars going past muted.

I've been reading more than I've been writing  - old favourites in poetry, where even if the eyes get a bit blurry, the lines are known so one can do without crystal clear anything, recognise the words from their shapes on the page anyway. 

Edna St Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson, Auden, Neruda, Yeats -  the all time smash hits. Mary Oliver and Maya Angelou, of course. Some Mahmoud Darwish, top of mind right now because of the conflict. 

Some children's poetry as well, Eletelephony is guaranteed to cheer me up every time. I love Escape at Bedtime and this one of Shel Silverstein too. Escape from the doom and gloom in the blink of an eye. What is your favourite children's poem? Do you have any favourites? What do you read when you get exhausted with the headlines?