The Lull – A poem

The Lull 

 

The trees outside my old front door

Grow leaves of emerald green

They stretch into the clearest sky

That I have ever seen

 

The pavements sit and listen in

To cheerful, bright birdsong

They wonder why the city sounds

Have ceased their rhythmic throng

 

A cat surveys the neighbourhood

It guards the quiet street

It takes a break to sunbathe

In the cosy, springtime heat

 

I open up the window wide

I set my doubt aside

I take my time, breathe in and out

Surrender to the tide

 

Though life’s dark clouds are fearsome things

We’ve weathered them before

So, let us great these golden hours

Without fear’s underscore

 

The world outside is still for now

It rests its weary core

And whilst it dreams in peacefulness

We’ll treasure it the more

 

Our friends and memories, love and joy,

They do not run from sight,

But whisper to us, kind and true,

And tell us ‘just sit tight’

Still

 

Still

Your cold fists scrunch tufts of hair into birds nests

But now It’s time to go

Just put on your shoes

One at a time

 

Bite the skin on your lips

Give your fingers time to breath

Now put on that bag of artefacts

I feels heavier than before

 

Glance down and down

Further than that

Until the core of the earth can see you

Until it stares back

 

Can you hear it yet?

The groaning and the wheezing

The rumble and the racket

Your steed is here

 

Two steps too close

See the blur and the squabble

Cross your fingers in your pocket

And hope to breathe

 

Stand tall, don’t topple

Look past it, that’s far enough

Hand on heart, feel it beat

Remember that it’s there.