Traces of Sunlight

As I try to break through my dark cocoon,         
you outline memories I stir within   
of salty skin held in the warm breath of June,      
glazed gold by a luminous sky and ocean. 
 

You outline memories I stir within  
like sunlight tracing a wintry scape. 
Glazed gold by a luminous sky and ocean,  
I roil on your shore’s ever changing shape.    
 

Like sunlight tracing a wintry scape,  
mottled thoughts in sepia begin to clear. 
I roil on your shore’s ever changing shape  
awakened by feelings of having you near.   

 
Mottled thoughts in sepia begin to clear 
when I cling to echoes of your distant voice.    
Awakened by feelings of having you near,           
the morning fog rises and songbirds rejoice. 
 

When I cling to echoes of your distant voice, 
of salty skin held in the warm breath of June,  
the morning fog rises and songbirds rejoice   
as I try to break through my dark cocoon. 

 

 
Written for: A Rhyming Pantoum of Five Stanzas Contest
Date: 5/9/22
Sponsor: L. Milton Hankins
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

Poem

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Kauffman Avatar
June 7, 2022 at 9:11 AM
Rhonda, congratulations on your win! Wonderful use of metaphor - the clearing mist of morning at the ocean - to articulate your reach for sunshine and new hope borning within you. Wonderfully written. Sending you blessings.
Calasibetta Avatar
June 6, 2022 at 7:50 AM
Congratulations on your win in the contest. "Mottled thoughts in sepia begin to clear"~love the depth of your words. :)Paulette
Goldsmith Avatar
June 4, 2022 at 12:15 PM
Congratulations on your win. Your "Traces of Sunlight" is a Wonderful write. Have a blessed day/weekend writing away.....................
Hankins Avatar
June 4, 2022 at 8:04 AM
A very fine write, Rhonda. It is so deserving of notice in my Pantoum contest. I enjoyed it immensely. Congratulations on your placement!
Watt Avatar
May 17, 2022 at 3:39 PM
It feels as though this is coming from a dark place, but with glimmers of hope as sunshine breaks through the fog and clouds, and summer memories are kindled as winter yields to springtime renewal. I just love the lines "Mottled thoughts in sepia begin to clear when I cling to echoes of your distant voice" and the imagery of songbirds rejoicing and fog lifting. Gorgeous and profound ~ John
Johnson-Saunders Avatar
May 19, 2022 at 7:35 PM
Thank you, John. Yes, I am trying to keep the darkness at bay. Writing about it has helped. Rhonda xx
Mcconnell Avatar
May 15, 2022 at 7:50 AM
A fine piece Rhonda, really good imagery with you speaking from a dark place and trusting the sunlight is getting brighter for you. Blessings always, Gordon
Johnson-Saunders Avatar
May 15, 2022 at 10:55 AM
Thank you, Gordon, for your kindness. Yes, this is a brighter day. I have good ones and bad ones, but I'm keeping my eyes looking up. Rhonda xx
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