It's just poetry, it won't bite

Wait (quiet will come)


02.12.17 Posted in today's words by

Murray Dunlap’s most recent poem to appear here was “The Dawn of Excellence” (January 2017)

Wait (quiet will come)
By Murray Dunlap

In memory of Alex Stirling

When the thunder fell
When the light skittered across the water
Mighty crickets fell silent
Rain fell and drained through an etchwork of trees
Matted fibers
Milky face

When spirits flowed
When the stairs grew long and treacherous
Unyielding smiles vanished
Glass broke in a reverberating roar
Arms dragging the curiously wet ground
Crimson smile
Stone eyes

When the lights focused in bright chorus
When the machine’s tangled tubes beeped with furious depth
Drowning faces looked away
Heels scraped cleanly across the corridor, sterile tiles
The pleasure of pity rotten with duration
Running to the finish line
Love lost
Now next

xxx

That’s the way it happened
That’s the way I fell apart
Waiting to know who and where I was
With only one finger left hanging onto the stone
Terrified with tremors
Sweat
Nightmares of you

That’s the way it is happening
That’s why I’m falling apart
Waiting to live and wanting to die
Clawing into the rocks with ripping nails of desperation
Smashing through silence
I screamed at you
Scathing screams

xxx

When white roses were in bloom
When there was no vault to be carefully sealed shut
Pain gathered in black legions
The band played light jazz to remember
Replacing one with the other
Trying to decide the delicate difference
Hands held
Painted smiles

When the light faded, out
When the southside of paradise became infested
Another bolt fastened to the door
Ears fell deaf to the knocking
Telling a tale to a stranger
Inside out
Grinning green

When the run began
When the circus clamored out of the way
Quiet returns unabashed
Still waters filled peripheral vision
Tiny walks through the giant countryside
Steady hand
Settled heart

xxx

That’s the way it happened
That’s how I got out
Waiting for my turn
Sculpting the rocks back into stone
Trying not to scream into the drowning faces
Telling a tale to a friend
Switch sides
Run

That’s the way it is happening
That’s why I’m still here
Fighting violent nightmares only with eyes shut tight
Removing the heaviest chair from behind the door
Climbing the cliff
Feeding starving thoughts of tomorrow
Learning love
Now



2 Responses to “Wait (quiet will come)”

  1. Frank Adams says:

    A poem that is deeply thoughtful and moving. It speaks to the soul – good job.

  2. Bobbie Troy says:

    wow, Murray, I am moved.

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