Have you ever found yourself in "the twilight zone," that location which lies vaguely somewhere between sleeping like a baby ... and being fully awake?
Well, I have. Many times.
Thank goodness, it has only happened to me a couple of times when I was behind the wheel ... and without serious outcomes in either instance.
Oh, on one of those occasions ... one very dark night ... I was pulled over by a highway patrolman somewhere in Indiana ... but that's another story.
But let me settle into my favorite chair ... with a favorite book ... and it's like I've been given a knockout potion. Soon the words become blurry ... the room seems to melt away ... the book grows heavy ... my eyelids grow heavier ...
Whoa! I'm getting ahead of myself here. I'll just step aside and let you glide right into the poem:
CAUGHT ON THE BRINK
Something I had just read
struck a chord with me,
sent sympathetic vibrations
dancing down the corridors
of my mind. I could feel
something stirring deep
within me, a new knowledge
coming like a rescuer's lamp
shooting fingers of light
this way and that,
drawing nearer in the murky
darkness, promising a sip
from the cup of understanding,
a way to come clawing out
of this abyss, into fresh air
and natural light. "Bob!" I
heard the distant voice calling.
"Bob! Put down your book,
take off your glasses, recline
your chair!" It was as though
the Thought Police had me
surrounded. What could I do?
What else? I surrendered.
©
2000(originally published in Capper's)
***
Today's word:
murky(Oh ... by the way ... another installment of "Squiggles and Giggles" has been posted)
Afterthoughts ... in response to your comments:
Welcome back, Featheredpines! We've missed you. I'm glad there was a timely poem waiting to greet you on your return ... and I hope you found that Robinson Jeffers piece. I also hope you're finding some refuge from that horrible heat. I am really sorry that you can't hear the latest poem posted on S&G. I just tried it, and it played for me (I really hope I'm not the only one who can get it to play). Perhaps it's just a temporary glitch with your connection ... and I know that's not very helpful ... but my technical knowledge is almost nil. I believe it's recorded and posted in the .wav format, if that's any help in solving the mystery. Let me know what happens, if you try again, please.
2 comments:
Short version - I'm back :)
This poem is timely for me. I'd been looking amidst still unpacked boxes for my copy of an anthology containing Robinson Jeffers' Inexhaustible Treasure, which puts me on the brink whenever I read it. Seeing as it's nearly 1 am here, you can understand why I was searching for that poem!
It's nice to be back here and find your commentary and poetry as interesting and soothing as before. Thank you for this oasis.
PS - can't hear the latest S&G poem, sorry! The link isn't working tonight.
Speaking of hot... it's been 96, 98, 97F respectively the last three days. And no a/c here... But at least it's not as humid as Ohio. Whew!
Where's that cold watermelon when you need it?
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