Self-Elegy by Muse

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‘It’s gone the way the mist is burned off the hollows in broken ground when the sun comes out,’ the Colonel said. ‘And you’re the sun.’
                                                       –Ernest Hemingway, Across the River and into the Trees (1950)

 

Self-Elegy by Muse

I am here to shine sunlight into shaded places—
those crooks and crannies in your caves of memory
where you’ve been stuffing your secrets for years,
half remembering
whether they were facts
or nightmares softened
by a mother’s hand upon your brow
or by the soothing balm of forgetfulness.

I am both muse and confessor,
accepting you at your word
and issuing indulgences.
I turn a flood into a mist, the mist into a poem,
the poem into immortality
coined from dark things scattered by the light
I bring them to.

For the dVerse Poets Tuesday Poetics prompt

 

21 thoughts on “Self-Elegy by Muse”

  2. Lisa or Li's avatarmsjadeli

    Judy, I like how you skillfully articulate the process, where the Muse turns into a blessed guardian angel, careful not to give more than the psyche is able to handle by softening yet also working its magic to dissipate it into harmlessness. You have successfully channeled Papa Hemingway in that you’ve captured the essence of his quote. I’m sure he would be smiling to read your poem ❤

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    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      And it often is. Amazing how writing about something can calm angst, soothe sorrow, bolster resolve. I guess that is what accounts for diary sales even among those who write little else.

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  8. sanaarizvi's avatarsanaarizvi

    My goodness this is stunning! I especially admire; “I turn a flood into a mist, the mist into a poem, the poem into immortality coined from dark things scattered by the light I bring them to.”💝💝

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