Rex Couch
Cell 2 Soul. 2006 Spring; 2(1):a12
December 21, 2002, Issaquah, Washington
Dark. Darkness seeks to sap my senses,
sight, touch, even taste
Dwindle, atrophy, muted,
wane before this opacity.
Dark. Darkness attacks my brain
as a thief on the roof
taps through and drops into
my being.
Descends on a murky evil line.
Gray. Gray is the hue of daylight now;
pallid light unpierced by sun makes me suffer.
Am I the one
who walks alone,
Dreaming away this dreary haze?
Pale. Pale light that illumines
Nothing but this rain-damped street,
where sensing little,
I tread apart.
Clear. Clearer grows the ebbing day.
The clouds escape and run
from skies turned azure.
Breezes chill but bracing
Herald night's oncoming beauty.
Brilliant. Brilliant this time that drinks
of glory from the winter sun.
A star that illumines heart, soul and mind alike,
Repeats the joy of all Decembers' memories
And turns the solstice into light.