The dark behind, the light ahead
We wander through the in-between
Listening for whispers in the wind
Of “Alive and risen”
The dark behind, the light ahead
We migrate toward the Land of Dawn
With a growing chorus of cheers
Shouting “Alive and risen!”
A succulent bite
As juice dances across my tongue
From the bright red flesh
Of the garden’s first fruit
With the scent of fresh earth
Churned through my fingers
That root up the weeds
As I tend Spring’s offering
A desert of discord
A haunt of demons
A wasteland of war
Bitterness floods
Hate burns red
Tears soak the earth
We wait, we wait
In longing
In desperation
In hope that we’ve lost
Until we see the sun
Until the dawn breaks
Until the darkness flees
From the Sacrifice
An unrelenting blizzard
Upon evidence’s mountain
A single witness screaming
Detailing all accounts and
Drowning me with fear
Before the scowling judge
As I await the verdict
And a sentence to begrudge
In Psyche’s crumbling prison
In Psyche’s crumbling prison
I scrawl dreams upon the walls
Lost sanity and freedom while
Silence slices through the halls
No visitors, no guards
The solitude consumes me
Voices whisper from the darkness
A haunt of words accusing
As I sink into the shadows
As I sink into the shadows
Desperate for the light
I am my own warden
With no pity, I recite
Every darkened thought
Self-condemning, I supply
A barrage of bitter words
Hateful truths I can’t deny
Am I lost forever?
Am I lost forever
In this cell block of my mind?
But I hear another voice
Calling me to find
A dim light in the darkness
A candle in your hand
A glimmer of new hope
An escape for the self-damned
So, I rise and go
So, I rise and go
My fingers scrape the wall
Wandering through the maze
Following your call
Dimly in the shadows
I see you reach toward me
When I take your hand
A twinge of hope, I’m free
We flee from Psyche’s Prison
We flee from Psyche’s Prison
Through forest foliage thick
Breaking into sunlight
Where no darkness can afflict
Now I gaze and breathe
Basking in the bright
Grateful for your presence
To fight my soul’s deep night
…
This poem was constructed from 6 days of VSS365 prompts: sentence, slice, warden, go, take, stand. It is a story of how others help us find light in times of mental and spiritual darkness.
In psyche’s crumbling prison
I scrawl dreams upon the walls
Lost sanity and freedom while
Silence slices through the halls
No visitors, no guards
The solitude consumes me
Voices whisper from the darkness
A haunt of words accusing
As I sink into the shadows
An unrelenting blizzard
Upon evidence’s mountain
A single witness screaming
Detailing all accounts and
Drowning me with fear
Before the scowling judge
As I await the verdict
And a sentence to begrudge
In psyche’s crumbling prison
Towering swirls in grayish hues
Roiling cotton against the blue
A drop of rain, a gust of wind
Rusty windmill squawks and spins
Flash of light, thunder rolls
Boy in mother’s arms consoled
Torrent gushing, pounding hail
Breathe deep, god of sky exhales
With velocity
Our stars align
Bright specks shine
Above the city
Streets alive
With the bustle
A chaotic hustle
Together we drive
Futures colliding
Head-on with fate
A calendar date
Our lives abiding
You and me forever
Your hand in mine
We age like wine
Enraptured together
Whistle for the pup
A call carried by the wind
‘Cross fields and flowers
A bark, a giggle
Six legs sprint, finding way home
A boy and best friend
A father smirking
Memories flooding, a sigh
Of retrospection
A glass of gin calls my name
Beseeching me to sip
By crackling wood as
Shimmers of moon
Catch my eye
My soul
Drifts
I sigh
Beside the
Wooded lake, lost
In the still of night
With quiet contentment
Refreshing the busy heart
Michael (Mike) Bergman 