Dayspring
A poem about a bleeding, broken heart, rosy-fingers of the dawn, and doves.
The Dayspring from on high has visited us;
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.— The Gospel of Luke 1:78b–79
I LIE ALONE, DEEP IN THE DARK,
Beneath a blackened moon.
My heart is pierced like star-pricked sky,
Blood dripping into gloom.
But then I feel the cool of air
On my hot and tear-stained face,
And the rosy fingers of the dawn
Caress my skin with grace.
I lift my eyes up to the light
That streams through flowing drapes
To see the form of pure-white dove
Descend as morning breaks.
In its beak is an olive branch
And in its eyes are light,
And in its wings are peace and hope
Which shine empyrean white.
It looks at me, and my heart is glad,
And hope melts fear away
As darkness fades before the dawn
And night gives way to day.
It lifts into the open sky,
And I rush to see it soar
And disappear into the blue
That wasn’t there before.
Gently, softly, a feather falls
Into my open palm.
And my broken heart is mended then
And laughs and sings a psalm.
And when the nights are dark and drear,
I touch the feather’s white
And know that dark fades in the dawn
And night melts into light.
Lovely, Mr. Josh! 😊 I especially like your lines:
"In its beak is an olive branch
And in its eyes are light,
And in its wings are peace and hope..."
It shows your true poet's instinct that at the touch of your pen the word "and" becomes not mere filler, but a syllable of power to urge along the meter and build anticipation. Deftly written - bravo!
Josh -- this is spiritually inspiring and linguisticly beautiful. I'm not so good at memorizing poetry as when younger, but this is well worth the effort!
" ... Say something we can learn by heart,
And when alone repeat... "
(Robert Frost)
And, of course the passage from Luke with which you prefaced it is well fixed in my mind and heart.