Starlight

Sorry for the long delay between posts - other things to do, you know how it goes. This poem makes use of an idea that'd been kicking around in my head for a while, and I'm still not entirely happy with the title. Any suggestions would be welcome.


Starlight

Struggling up, bent double, the hill that leads home,

The chill in the sky settling into my bones,

I scan the way carefully for patches of ice.

Skidding and slipping, and losing control,

Progress is tentative, tortuous and slow,

Coldness and misery deaden the soul.

The handles of the bags cause my knuckles to ache

With curious burning, as wind pinches my face,

Grounded in the weaknesses of flesh.

My downward-case vision, scouring the ground

Take in crystals of ice scattered around,

Coruscating in place as I move.

My perspective is changing – I come to a halt;

The strange constellations between the rock salt

All discomforts and achings forgetting.

As the mind’s focus alters, I seem to fall forward,

Moving through the asphalt to the glittering starfield,

Drifting through burnished infinity.

Unanchored I soar through endless starshine,

Exulting in absolute freedom, for a time,

Transcending my fleeting frailty.