Sunshine and Shadows

There are black clouds lingering over me.
Casting shadows.
Even though
there's a big red sun above
shining down on me.
Warming my face.
Caressing me.
reminding me of other sunshine days
when the rays beamed more sweetly.

The clouds make today too close,
too hot,
yesterday too far away.
And the rays are stabbing me sharply.
Hurting me.
No longer warm and sweet
but hot and sour.
Piercing me.
Cutting me like icy splinters.
Because there's cold there as well,
coming from somewhere.

This sun is too bright for me to see clearly,
too red and swollen,
like my eyes feel now.
Heavy.
Black with shadows.
So I'm waiting for the rain to fall.
Fall away.
Drop by drop until they're empty and cold.
And I'm waiting for more cold days to come.

And I'm waiting for the empty clouds to pass
and the sun to shine again
and warm me
if it can.




First published in Aubade, Issue 1, 2015