Amid the Jagged Shadows
‘Amid the jagged shadows of mossy leafless boughs’
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Tim had put on his winter coat and sat on the children’s swing
‘Never too old to play’ he pondered as he neared the clouds
Thoughts dangled from branching memories but he held firm
He leafed through the book of his life and felt moss in his heart
But the dusty pages had always grown rose petals among thorns
His shadows grew shorter towards the pinnacle of meaning
But the wind gently swayed his body and soothed his mind
On the ground a mosaic of nostalgia mixed with the seasons
Painted a monochrome pattern that sharpened his focus
Lines in the sand portrayed spiky reminiscence of shadows
He had been to morass of lowlands and peaks of fulfilment
Felt the bark on his skin and tasted sweet and sour fruition
Grazed his bare knees and cut through barbed branches
Fell on promises’ temptation beyond dreams in delusion
Rooted his wings in a canopy of compassion nevertheless
The twilight of contours and silhouettes reflected some truth
Which one he had not quite captured but a light led the way
The canvass below raised him into meditation and love
As he remembered Picasso who is said to have spoken that
It took him ages to learn how to paint like an untainted child
Just then all the pictures painted in the playground faded
And yet gained momentum when touched by a bare canopy
Into one message of epiphanous clarity tasked with blissful delight
It’s never too late to be the kid in a park I always longed for
Jagged at the outside I can see that youth comes from within
‘When life gives you branches fashion a wreath for your passion’
26th November 2019
Writing Challenge 3, November - Any Form
Sponsor, Dear Heart - Wisshkobi Ode
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