NEW ::: POETRY Apr. 2015 | Page 59

I know in my heart it is a given That I can never entirely banish This spectre of the night, It will always be beside me, as it needs to be. Just as surely as the sunniest of summer’s mornings Or the broadest of smiles on a lover’s face Can make your heart soar, As a counterpoint in the navigation Of all that’s possible in life. All that one would ever want to reach out for, Whether driven by angels or demons. So I choose to condemn it To wait on the sidelines forever. And as an irrelevance, a meaningless shadow, A token silhouette to all my blessings. Like the soft dusting of fallen snow on hollow bones, On the already broken, spilt corpse Of souls long since departed. Strengthened by the certainty That the light I cherish and hold dear within Will instead keep me safe and warm, Till my own time comes… Life collects, pools around you. It paints its highlights, Nothing there you can destroy Or begin again. Calm in aquamarine beauty, Barely a hint of surf’s snowy trim. Today the sea is out But will come again. For the moment, On the beach, My love and I, Naked and blissful as can be. In the soft, sun baked sand History between my toes. Sense how Even the smooth stones ache With stories of their own In the shuddering light of day. We are anything but finite Or alone! After all the petals of proof Are here in our hearts, Are they not? And however deflated We might sometimes be, Either by our own frailties Or the cruelty of others, - Inviolate At the core of our being, The very prism Of sanctity and self remains. And latent there, The quick silvered opportunity Of redemption, To become enchanted again. Sublime moments refracted, Even if only for seconds, Caught forever in your soul. SCOTT HASTIE And still the darkness waits for me, As I know it will… And ever more avariciously still, As it senses my journey comes closer to fruition.