safe

[Dave]

Daylight fades faster than sight
so without compass or innate sense
the earth sounds flat. Finite.

I stumble on a root,
a bird breaks cover,
shoots out from nowhere
disappears among the black.

It is best to stand still,
pretend I am safe inside my skin,
its fully formed universe.

My pulse remains steady;
if I wait long enough

light will draw me back
to the centre of the known world.


 

[Tracy Mitchell]

The world is outside, visible in light, and finite in the dark, flat.  The Speaker is pulled back, back from the inner universe, which is presumably none of these.  There is trepidation in the voice.  

That's what I see.

T
 

[indar]

Wonderful personal perspective poem Dave. I recognize the disorientation of utter lack of light. That moment serves as a great analogy for much larger issues. 

Love the way natural events such as the bird breaking cover becomes threatening (or at least startling) in the context of the moment.

Great imagery--just the right amount of words

[Colm Roe]

Nice but disturbing poem Dave.
There's a menacing feel here, a frightening loss of control, but so well conveyed.
 

[Mark]

This is well-constructed, no side-road ambiguities, just alone in the dark of the forest, a little scared but grounded in something... faith? Good stuff, Dave.