ManicDDaily

Between Light and Dark

My mother saw the “light” once, a few days
after my birth when complications happened,
mounds of blood unearthed on linoleum maze
wherever she trod.  In crash of pan and din,
from kitchen to OR, she was transported
to a view of light as bright as snow-sunned field.
It beckoned; it said, come.  Put down assorted
care; just rest; let wounds and heart be healed.
And she was tempted.  For she was so tired,
even young.  Till she remembered my crabbed face,
mottled with blue, yet red as a small fire,
and she, protesting no, chose the shadowed space,
the dapple at tunnel’s start, the ombre
of arms clasped, the crosshatch of joy with somber.

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Here’s a sonnet (of sorts) for the dVerse Poets Pub Poetics prompt hosted by me today on the theme of bright shadow (in honor of Groundhog Day).

Check out all the great poets at dVerse and, if you have an extra moment on this wintry day, check out my books!  Poetry, GOING ON SOMEWHERE, (by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Diana Barco). 1 Mississippi -counting book for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms, or Nose Dive, a very fun novel. Nose Dive is available on Kindle for just 99 cents!