Some Nights
Some nights it’s easy to balance
stars, to slowly shift your arms
to match the rotation of a nebula.
Some nights, searing lights glide
behind your eyes and glaze waking
to nestle in your hair like roosting birds.
Some nights it’s best to bed early
to let the swirling shapes wrestle alone
to open the windows and draw the drapes
to let sound find your insides all their own
while shapeless fabric flutters soft as wings.
NYE on Paseo Reforma - Street Performer
Written (loosely!) to Nathan’s prompt at Read Write Poem. Find other responses to the prompt here.
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Editorial addition: And inspired by last night’s moon, which Julie reminded me of in her comments:
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Oh, this is magnificent, Deb.
Goodness. Thanks, Dale! xxoo
The first stanza… yum. Thinking how gloriously it would be spoken to the moon, which is almost full.
Thanks for the visit, Julie. Your nice comment reminded me I had been loving last night’s moon and had taken a bunch of photos, so added one!
‘Some nights it’s easy to balance stars’ is a gorgeous line – this whole poem is full of elegant phrases. Very nice.
Wow. Thanks, Damian. I appreciate your comments, and the visit!
I love the first stanza’s image of adjusting the arms in sleep to accommodate the sky…
Oh, thanks, Donna. Glad you like that. Seems that first stanza is a keeper. :-)
It’s dreamy, gauzy, deep-image. I like how images reappear: a galaxy appears in stanza one (nebula), then again in stanza three (swirling shapes); and a bird appears in stanza one (roosting), then again in stanza three (wings).
Thanks, Therese, for mentioning the two. I liked the idea of combining the two images.
I like roosting birds nestling in the hair…my hair looks like that sometimes
:-) I hear you!
I like the first stanza best, but I like the whole thing.
Thanks, Rachel!
I like the last stanza as well.
It is great advice (at least for me), and you put it wonderfully especially in the first three lines.
Oh, good. I was sending myself advice, to be honest.
I love the 1st stanza. Very true. Makes me think about how sometimes the seeming impossible can appear so effortless. Lovely.
Thanks, James. I like your read on the poem. Very much.
I looked at the tab on the browser and it appears that my previous comment is the 5000th comment on this blog. That kind of makes my day.
That makes me happy, too! Neat (and I do mean that word. I like it…) that you noticed.
I like the assured tone and quiet serenity of this. So much held up by so little.
Thanks for the visit, David. And your comment. Means a lot.
nicely done
Thank you, Wayne.
to let sound find your insides all their own
while shapeless fabric flutters soft as wings.
Deliciously evocative. I love it!
I’m grateful it spoke to you. Thanks, Paul. And for the visit.
Those last two lines are indeed gorgeous, Deb.
I haven’t yet gone through the links at RWP’s “Get Your Poem On” post, but am savoring the prospect — maybe tomorrow morning. It seems to have been a pretty fruitful prompt for the several of you I’ve happened to read so far.
Wow, thanks, Dave.
Wonderful last lines!
geometry of fireworks cuts into me
Thanks for visiting, Gautami. I’ll be by next week!
This really shows off your ability to turn a phrase and create a surprising image. I really love this, Deb.
Oh, my. Thanks, Nathan.
Glorious!
Thanks, Dick!
i’m also a fan of your image: lights as roosting birds. and i like how the whole poem is set up as “sometimes it’s easy” — our brains automatically know what’s implied (and then described so magnificently without specifically saying) — “sometimes it’s not”
Thanks, Carolee. That’s my favorite surprise from the subconscious, too. (The roosting birds.) I wasn’t sure if the repetition was “too easy.”
your writing is always so beautiful. i think this is a terrific response to the prompt. keep up the good work.