October Poems 2024 >> the flicker of my flame

A poem for each day of the month in which I was born

October 08
the flicker of my flame  

the plans i’ve planned have withered in my hands,
upon whose page have raged my shattered dreams;
my golden hopes have slithered, like quicksands,
out of my grasp, into the cracks and seams

of circumstance. if i could dance again
upon young rocks whose shocks my spirit spurred,
or hoola-hoop across the vast terrain,
where danger and adventure lines are blurred:

might not then i my filigree again
replenish well, with carousel and rhyme,
for mornings when i buckle 'neath the strain
of burdens i must carry past my prime?

the book of rules, for fools, disconsolate,
extracts day labour from lay-neighbour camps,
confounding civil charms and etiquette
across the trail, to rid lights of their lamps.

the flicker of my flame, quicker than ever,
new hope revives, for lives whose vibes are bruised.
i fall again, but rise, for never, never
shall i get death and slumber all confused.

© Copyright 2024 October 07
by Clyve A. Bowen♫