It's Still Life

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” — John Steinbeck


 
White Summers and Black Winters

Age has taken the heat
out of us. Petals detach,
day on day. Aimless as
steamboats. Once adrift,
we were the sun, bright,
a chase of white summer
heat. Our days fast and
irresistibly flushed.
We were brassy. Sassy
as a full moon, and we
were steady, trembling
with excitement. But

age has taken the heat
out of us. We still flow —
some days motionless.
Our dawn is the moving sky,
and we nap our way through
black winters. Our dreams,
they split like water. And
we take to walking sticks,
and trembling hands. We are
a thousand silver bubbles,
not quite ready to burst
into the knife-sharp-light.

 
© Misky 2016

written for Poetic Bloomings Entertainment: 4 July. “To Quote Summer”. Image is from Ireland National Library on Flickr. CC:0 No copyright restrictions