Sight

the sting is like

the year I floated facing the sun

I wonder now if I burned my eyes

in LA the pools are laced with wasps

the stinger sat, a sharp reminder

you don’t belong here among these seekers

yours is a different path

I went to see Sting in concert

all I remember is he didn’t sing Desert Rose

and years later she did

and we made silhouettes out of each others need

like wax votive, burned and reshaped

I carry those days in me

a song, a plunge to the bottom of a pool

the coldness, and fierce sun blinding

anything but fallen oranges

one is floating above me

its fat globe like drusen

they say that’s what crowds your vision

before you lose it

before you cannot read her love letters or see

the stray wisp of hair curled against her neck

when you dissolve and climb through water

ending up in the bark of the orange tree

you think less of numbers and more of peace

can I find a way to get through this day well?

Closing curtains on the hastening of light

from the east, dimming day

like a candle can be snuffed

by pinching two fingers

climb heavy into bed

glad for the sound of cicadas

woodland creatures rustling like

painted fans among

the cupped hands

of pomegrante trees

bowing with fruit

7 Replies to “Sight”

Speechless admiration. No part better than another. Wish I’d written this…

A beautifully emotional piece, full of intriguing imagery, and I especially liked these stunning lines..
“when you dissolve and climb through water
ending up in the bark of the orange tree
you think less of numbers and more of peace”

Candice, I’m sitting open mouthed, lost, it seems, in the flashing crystals of your kaleidoscopic vision. And wishing that MD were as easily repaired as cataracts.

https://youtu.be/C3lWwBslWqg

This poem has the most weightless finish but I still have tears in my eyes. Does anything better embody synesthesia than the song of cicadas taking over the sky? 💜