“Poem of the Night”

Poem of the Night

 

The streets are gleaming tonight

as if a million stars were brought to earth,

flattened into urban mirrors

under lamp posts reflecting

an empty nothingness.

 

It is a dull mid-winter night,

straining towards spring

with all intention of leaching

the dying season’s

last insult, unleashing it

upon mankind’s discomfort

one more time.

 

“A foggy day in London town”

Is what I think when I look down

This cotton-wool streetscape,

But that has tune and purpose,

And this muted stillness has none.

 

The rain left a muffling fog,

Mercifully erasing stark bones

of tree limbs reaching to the sky

Black beggars on seasonal parade.

 

Yet,

there is a strange beauty to the night,

Transforming what was common,

Dissolving borders, barriers, dimensions,

Making a mirage, an alien oasis.

 

Heavy mists swirl around the ground,

Lift past the unfocused light

combine with the creeping gloom

And turn a hand to pale mystery.

 

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, 2016

 

“Night Poem”

“Salisbury”, watercolor, janekohut-bartels, 2005

It seems we are entering the seasonal pattern of storms, tornadoes and the general fury of a tender season: Spring. 

We need the rain, the drought again threatens,  the winds are fierce, as I watch them toss and twirl the great Pin Oaks,  Live Oaks, Pecans.  Even watching this display brings on  vertigo, as you marvel at the flexibility of these monsterous sentinels filling the the landscape.

The power of what is there, the marvel of it all! They stand between heaven and earth and overwhelm the eyes and senses.

Lady Nyo

 

NIGHT POEM

–

The wind howled hard last night,

A chorus of disgruntled banshees

Out to fracture nerves and peace,

Disrupt any possible sleep,

Make dogs whine in fear-

A sickly moon  above.

–

 

The wind chimes on the eaves

Jangled, clanged

Hollow metal hambones

Danced at the command

Of transforming elements–

Discord added to a fearsome harmony.

–

 

This is an alarming season,

Nothing soft-edged about it.

The tattered- leaved branches

Silhouetted against a plastered wall,

Illuminated by harsh street lights–

Whip  about in a feeding frenzy

And I dare not close my eyes,

But creep down to quiet the hounds

Who share my anxious sentiments–

A rude and boisterous night.

–

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, 2012

 

“Night Poem”

The streets are gleaming tonight

as if a million stars  brought to earth,

splintered into urban mirrors

thrown under lamp posts

reflect an empty  nothingness.

–

It is a dull mid-winter night,

straining towards spring

with all intention of leaching

the dying seasons

last insult, unleashing it

upon mankind’s discomfort

one more time.

–

“A foggy day in London town”

Is what I think when I look down

This cotton-wool street scape,

But that has tune and purpose,

And this muted stillness has none.

–

The rain left a muffling blindness,

Mercifully erasing  stark bones

of tree limbs reaching to sky

Black beggars on seasonal parade.

–

Yet,

there is a strange beauty to the night,

Transforming what was common,

Dissolving borders, barriers, dimensions,

Making  a mirage, an alien oasis.

–

Heavy mists swirl round the ground,

Lift past  unfocused light

combine with  creeping gloom

And turn a hand to pale mystery.

–

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, 2011