The creaking is omnipresent
And the flickering
Outside the door
Will not be leaving me today
Unless you change it
With relentless fire.

White light from blue sky
Shines through the glass
Split into many rays.
They all touch the floor
Landing fleetingly
And running towards me.

Laughter is still distant
But I don’t want
To climb the stairs
To the place of joy.
Joy that I don’t need…
Joy with a question mark.

Walls surrounding me
Have their foundations shaken
By the distant drumming
An irregular heartbeat
Far below the Earth…
An underlying, empty sensation.

The rays of light
Try to climb my shirt
Up to my shoulders.
The ridges in the fabric
Are causing problems…
But nothing insurmountable.

Nevertheless, I wait
For them to give up
As I know they will,
Because they want to go home
To where the other rays live
And put their feet up.

The flickering has stopped
Even though I never asked,
But the brightness,
Though it faded,
Has returned once again.
The day is not over yet.

05/29/2001

Posted on 10/01/2001
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince