Poem by Susan Plett

NIGHTSPACE
 

the moon calls me
into this silken California dark
sings to me to embrace the stars
walk softly
lightly on the soles of my feet
in the gentle quiet beneath the trees

we are too large in lighted places
we interact with rooms full of furniture
that crowd out thought, voice

our deepest truths are nocturnal
bats curled in upon themselves
I enter the darkness without flinching
eager for the sandpaper rasp of truth
on the soft underbelly of fear

the bat unfurls his widespread wings
I take careful note of the shape of his ears
count the teeth in the warm pink mouth
test the sharpness of each small toenail
carry the weight and shape of him
into the cool gray dawn

§ § §

Susan Plett refers to herself as an accidental poet - she never aspired to write poetry, but her fiction got shorter and shorter, and more image filled, and so she finally surrendered. Her work has appeared in FreeFall, Canadian Writers Journal, StoryTeller, and online at Utmost Christian Writers.

You can reach her at brekke@elegantlogic.com .

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