Poem 1035 – Autumn Morning

The alarm sounds, intruding the other world.
At first, resisting, I lie between two states,
An inhabitant of both and citizen of neither.
It’s dark, the autumn night still lingers.
Weary, I rise and stumble down the stairs,
Hiking into an undiscovered land.
Outside is not yet sharp, instead suggested,
An uncertain realm of possibility waiting
To be determined, sharpened by interaction.
I rub my eyes and seek to see the truth.
Slowly the darkness peels away
The spell of night is past, at last the day is come.

Waking today it was dark, the days are shortening.
(16.10.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel on Unsplash

Poem 307 – Sunrise (Revisited)

All was dark in the moment beforehand
As if only we were abroad
But somewhere a whisper awakens
Bidding workers to attend to their chores

Stoke up the furnace ’til it’s ready
Then prize open its door just a crack
So a halo of pink might outline roofs
Now released, there’s no holding back

Its torrent boils over the floodgates
Pours into the skies in a flash
A writhing of rust and vermillion
Persimmon and cadmium clash

It’s urgency rages in anger
Like a blazing volcano erupts
It’s fierce stallions charge onwards relentless
Against night’s forces resisting its thrust

The darkness regrouping intensifies
Its blackness seems blacker than the grave
But nothing can hold back dawn’s progress
Triumphant its glories cascade!

As fast as the battle was opened
Dawn’s turmoil is over and done
Morning’s light is finally upon us
Its peace has been violently won

I enjoyed revisiting one of first poems the other day, and so decided to do it again today with ‘Poem 5 – Sunrise‘ from 12.10.21, again reworking its rhythm and trying some rhyme.
(29.09.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by kazuend on Unsplash