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