Darkened Panes

listen to ‘Darkened Panes’ on Audioboo

It’s the scar tissue type

         of hope,

the kind that’s

drawn too far past—

 the frayed lines

of sympathetic appeal—

          

It’s the moistened blanket

twice applied to feverish brows—

molested by dampening tears

escaping their shadow’s cell

It’s the weathered apparel

hesitantly breathing

yet often lacking the design

of symmetry—

dividing the pangs of ulcers deep;

         below the crested veil, yet well above

         the coded resolve—

It’s these battles

waged in a cuneiform of turmoil

amongst the bridging gaps of confused allegiance—

where cultural dignity is pitted so squarely

against the necessities of economy

It’s the imposter behind the curtain

in the back room with the purposefully darkened

panes of glass

                  “Not the one where…”

“Yes, that’s the one…

         where good mothers and fathers alike,

         tell tales of exaggerated consequence

before applying the forehead’s midnight kiss goodnight”

It’s these stories

that can make one wonder what exactly was seen

to prompt such tales, that are remembered all too easily

was it an unnatural gleam—

or a bothersome tic—that

marred the desired fabric of their creations frequency

It’s the words of a storyteller, relaying:

warnings—

             as subtle overtures of persuasion,

                                    unintended to incite implication,  

yet performed, in such a way,

where a tad too little premonition,

is weighed upon, as to how

  potential seeds

already have been,

inadvertently delivered somehow—

never considering the fragility of

         a child’s mind, where fractured

and faulty filters have yet been taught

It’s these moments

of self-revelation

that act as epiphanies—

          as warnings

of what could be,

if we,

choose not to act

accordingly

It’s these memories

         that we remember all too well,

as we sit

patiently behind

our darkened

         panes of glass

For Open Link Night over at D'Verse.  Be sure to head on over there, the Bar's open and the poetry is flowing fierce.  Sit back, grab a glass and enjoy.  If you've a poem of your own you'd like to share, simply step up to the mike and join in on the weekly fun.