Author: Elizabeth Maynard

Light slow-rising
reveals every glistening thing

I couldn't hear the lowing
or the longing
as the chauffeur drove me past
in my hermetically sealed life

You glide seamlessly
across the surface 
of every conversation
careful to avoid each ripple

Here on the cusp of the world
birdsong and gentle breeze
tempt me to remain safe and still

How can you be so 
immersed in every longing
helpless to surface?

You are all bubbling
brook and spring's green breaking now
but not yet in bloom

A small child's fury
not nothing against the fire
of this adult rage

I pause here between 
dishes and the bedtime tale
to exhale stardust

Afraid to begin
I waited, breathless
heart thundering
shaking every cell and sinew
Then it was time
to do the dreaded thing
pry my own fingers
from a life outlived

Morning begs you now
How many swift-tumbling days
will you pass asleep?