SESTINA --- DARK TIL DAWN

DARK TIL DAWN

It was dark when I heard him,
A quiet, distant, rustling at the door.
Though the night was velvet, I did panic -
Strange night noises leave me gasping for breath.
Blinded and disoriented I crept
Along the walls, hoping to see him now.

I will wait for daylight now
As the darkness lingers I can't see him.
Deep into the shadows I think he's crept,
Hiding from the light 'til he finds the door
To freedom. He'll have to wait, hold his breath
While the air gets heavy. I can't panic.

There's never time to panic
Unless I give myself the freedom now
To feel anxiety in every breath.
The darkness keeps lurking; I can't find him.
Even though I look through the open door
I cannot see the place where he once crept.

There! I saw, watched as he crept
Between shadows and light. I saw panic
As suddenly he bolted for the door,
Agitated - running for darkness now.
There's no doubt, though, light surely will find him.
As the dawn breaks, he cannot catch his breath.

Silently, I hold my breath.
I am tired, watching as the dawn has crept
Across the sky. And soon it will touch him.
What wintry thoughts will cross his mind? Panic
Is not natural; it is what he now
Has. Again I wait, gazing through the door

Into the dawn. A new door
Will soon open, we both will catch our breath
And breathing, we will find our future now
Is present, that in the waiting it crept
Upon us - wanting, willing, our panic ...
Contemplating this future, I watch him

Moving through the door, dawn's light catches him -
He's holding his breath, holding his panic.
There's nothing now, night into day has crept.


mebw
© 4-3-13

dawn

pink dawn breaks the sky
shifting clouds speak to the wind
where is the rain

Michelle Balletto-Wooten
© 7-26-11

EARLY haiku

early

morning song
chorus reaching crescendo
light explodes the dawn


Michelle Balletto-Wooten
© 5-8-11