Wrestling With Gray



Ribbon highways tempt with destinations, 

bright electric exits without melancholy

brooding in the rear-view mirror.

 

I normally don’t look back,

mind rake my yesterdays

to garden good times, but

stuck in non-direction

even images of my overweight self

are sunlight on a monochrome Sunday.

 

Sitting at my table of wishes I watch

a cardinal through my window,

drink another cup of tea, and ponder

if a journey begins with a single step,

how do I reach Shambala by pacing quicksand?


©Susie Clevenger 2020


I was honored to have my photo as inspiration to spark poetry at The Sunday Muse.

The Sunday Muse #116

Poets and Storytellers United ~ Writer's Pantry #28

Comments

  1. Sherry Blue SkyJuly 12, 2020 at 5:27 PM

    Oh I LOVE that closing stanza......wonderful!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. C. SandlinJuly 13, 2020 at 6:19 AM

    Love the idea of raking the past into the good times to come and feel that sense of time having stuttered like a needle and skipped several verses lately. But then I started asking--is Shambala not at the top of the mountain but in the letting go into the quicksand? Is this the way that I should go instead?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susie ClevengerJuly 13, 2020 at 11:49 AM

      Each of us has a different path in this pandemic, yet so much of it is the same in how we feel. I'm not sure how one thrives in quicksand, but I'm trying to reach higher ground.

      Delete
  3. Carrie Van HornJuly 13, 2020 at 7:50 AM

    Each line here is bright with vision even in the wrestling of what is to come. A glorious write for your amazing photography my friend! Thank you for giving us something wonderful to muse to this week Susie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susie ClevengerJuly 13, 2020 at 11:50 AM

      Thank you. I so remember the day I took the photo. I couldn't have known the world would crash into immobile.

      Delete
  4. Phoenix RetributionJuly 13, 2020 at 1:41 PM

    The thought of being stuck and the uncertainty of the next step, heightens my senses to just take a giant leap forward.

    ReplyDelete
  5. qbitJuly 13, 2020 at 6:18 PM

    This: "mind rake my yesterdays

    to garden good times", so good.

    "how do I reach Shambala by pacing quicksand?" is a killer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AJJuly 14, 2020 at 2:25 AM

    Raking yesterdays to garden good times is something I, alas, am far too guilty of... Thanks for sharing...

    ReplyDelete
  7. purplepeninportland.comJuly 15, 2020 at 4:57 PM

    I love that last stanza. Thank you for sharing this photo with us.

    ReplyDelete

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