Ragged

Ragged Ragged heartbeats, Shut in But not Shut out, Tattered heartbreak, Tragedy Flung From high towers Swooping down in towering tornados Descending Ascending from foul marshes Quick sand Stalking careless footsteps - Stealthy quagmires – fetid slime - Like a shredded storm - Lurk by the doorstep Round the corner Up the highway On the highroad Near the low road Alone But not lonely Colleagues of long ago, Companions on the quests, Coax my muse to contemplation Far from the scheduled, frantic crowd, Erratic cacophony Blowing horns, sirens, Lonely whistles of nighttime trains In frayed harmonies Wooing scruffy inner child Emerge Play again; Bundled up against the frozen banshee’s breath, Sitting in the lap of time - Lost and unrestrained In candied dawns and lavender midnights, Ignoring the scream of seconds to pay attention Startled by life peeping in through rosettes – Intruder with vacant eyes - Calling dance with the dance macabre To the dirge of who knows when shutters close; Turned out Not turned away Turning ‘round - Grabbing the hand of verse – friend called lyric - To the sound of remembered carousels enchantment; Freeing elfin earthbound energy; Essence escaping boundaries at a welcoming hearth, Exploding From isolation’s shabby womb. 10-5-21 Contest: “R” Sponsor: Constance La France