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Today's poem is by John Pursley III

If You Have Ghosts
       

The dark is enough: the smallness of morning
Before the first light slides, carefully
Along the banister, where
My whole life, over polished wood & the imperfections
Of wood, I have run my hands,
Pressed lightly on the same steps, the same door
Where I know my parents are sleeping...

We are never alone-though, to understand it
For the first time must come as a surprise for a child,
The way a window, opening
Or suddenly snapped shut, can suggest
Change in the weather, an approaching storm
Or the stillness following-the quiet
Murmur of earth, lights that never go out.

The difference is in being small & understanding
One's smallness. Every angel is terrifying
Let them sleep where they may. Turn & go back
Across the hall to your room-lie down,
Beside your own body & comfort
In its breathing. There are still a few good hours
Between morning & much work to do.



Copyright © 2010 John Pursley III All rights reserved
from If You Have Ghosts
Zone 3 Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission

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