Transformed
The sun has disappeared behind the hill.
Leaves on the maple beside my porch
are dark and still.
One long thin cloud
is stretched across the faded blue.
Bird notes float softly through the air
like distant memories returning.
The pain that tormented me for weeks
has dissolved into the welcome stillness
of twilight’s tender light.
Dissolved into the coral blossoms
of the potted impatiens beside me here.
Dissolved into petal, root, and leaf.
The pain that tormented me for weeks
has found its way into the stones
scattered on my tabletop, their edges
smoothed by nature’s many moods. And time.
May I too be smoothed and gentled
by life’s offerings.
May I hold my own history
with such exquisite grace.
The pain that tormented me for weeks
has finally found its peace
on the dark still water that reflects
street lights coming on.
May I accept my pain as nothing more
than ink to write a poem.
And so it is.
Copyright © 2004 Margaret Robison
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