A Lamp Lit Quiet

How quickly the years flee

A Lamp Lit Quiet

I have lit a lamp quiet

In solitude with pen.

I shall soon be but dust

Whose memories then?

Do the days forget 

As they flow forever on

Each sorrow, each joy,

Each love ever gone?

A leathered hand held high to the sky,

A grass-stained ball arcs ‘cross the Sun,

From dugout in shadow, bright light at the plate,

A crack of the bat,  four bases quick run.

Midnight dark in woods abed,

Coyote chorus, hoot of an owl,

A crackle of deer step 

Lucy looses a growl.

The first of many,

Love’s true tender kiss.

Tangled in sheets,

Flesh wed in bliss.

Her fierce pain of birthing,

Our first born’s first cry.

Each child leaves home, 

So soon says goodbye.

A table circled,

Memories said,

A dram downed for

Each parent dead.

Surely do the days forget

As they flow forever on

Our sorrows and joys

Loves forever gone.

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

A beautifully penned piece of nostalgia. How precious our memories become as we age and lose those we love. Finely written Michael, imagery which comes alive. Very much enjoyed and felt.

Chris

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you Chris. Being a fan of your work, your praise is appreciated and trusted.MSB

[Betty Hermelee]

A beautiful reflective moment to look back on some incredible adventures, relics, love, etc.. we don't want to lose them...so we must keep them in our mind's eye and in our hearts...marriage, kids, baseball, it doesn't matter....they are memories for us to glance upon now and then..... NICE!
Warmly, B

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks for reading Betty. Lately I have been writing so much about the past. It seems each poem triggers more memories, inspires another poem, triggers more memories, etc. I am going to the mountains next week, hopefully I will bring back some material about nature, get out of my rut.

[Betty Hermelee]

i live in the mountains, the Appalachian’s, in NC, beautiful here! Always a pleasure to read you poetry
Warmly, B

[Desert Knave]

Wow. Yes, the years flee so bloody quickly. Nicely worded piece. ~Jim

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks Jim. I rarely write in rhyme; I am not good at it. I find myself choosing second best or third best words just to rhyme and/or stray from my original inspiration. I am pleased you and others had positive thoughts about it.

[destiny renteria]

lovely poem indded meaningful with the structure i admired this also text me back in your inbox

[redd Brick Keshner]

The lamp flickers, but the light it casts is still warm. Memory is not lost in time, only carried, somewhere unseen, folded between breath and absence.

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you Frederick. Your words are very meaningful for me; so, so much is indeed to be found “folded between breath and absence.”

[redd Brick Keshner]

Most welcome Michael. Glad you like the cooking language there, or even laundry talk. I thought it stirred up a familiar, homey feel. 🙏🏻🕊

[Einstein Noodle]

"Do the days forget
As they flow forever on"
i especially like those lines ... the personification sticks with me through the read .. interesting change in length of lines in V3 .. it made me stop and take note .. it accents the turn to a real life .. baseball .. memories of nature ... love .. parenthood .. death of parents .. well done says i! you took care with this and it shows .. thanks for sharing!
E.

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thanks for reading. That change in line length really bothered me writing this, and still does, but the baseball imagery was stuck in my head and I didn’t want to abandon it.

[Einstein Noodle]

yes! it gave me pause as well .. glad you kept it .. we just keep trying and exploring .. tho so much has gone before us, language and creativity allows more new paths than we can imagine :)))
E.

[Lara]

This piece designs quite a meditative space, sun bear. With stanzas laid out neatly for each chapter cataloguing passages of memorable moments, as if each were its own table-setting with its own shaft of light: vivid and resonant. Nostalgia draws the grain in a table I imagine is pine...

[Michael Sun Bear]

Thank you Lara, your vivid use of language extends to your reviews; any comments from you are especially appreciated.