nightly calm
nightly calm
by Brandon S. Roy
Listen: rain that taps like footstepss on roofs
i hear them say something is coming
the little girl that wanders the neighborhood at night
can you hear her song?
it would be wise to be quiet
lay down your glasses, don’t sip your coffee,
don’t turn a page
it would be best to be quiet
tell the children not to whistle
or they will call the ghost
close your eyes
hold the windows close
silence the rain
hold each other till the sleep comes
This poem surely sucks the reader into ‘the moment’ thru its meditation-like instruction. It’s a pretty difficult thing to do–to silence the reader’s many distractions and get them to focus…to focus on the quiet, the calm, and just live in the slowed-down seconds as if ‘being’ were your only reason for existence.
There is such a powerful ambience invoked when the poet mentions night and rain–it’s not only something we can all relate to with their sedatory powers, but it is physical and tactile as well…something that is seen, touched, and hence felt innermost in the within.
But what is the poem leading to?
The ending:
“close your eyes
hold the windows close
silence the rain
hold each other till the sleep comes”
mmm. i feel this. The last line introduces another person into the mix…a lover, a friend, a family member…or does it? We could interpret it literally or figuratively i think. “Hold each other…”–we live with the world in all its variety and with all our emotions which swell to the surface between a beautiful sunrise, a sunny day afternoon, or a rainy dusk.
Well done! Thanks for sharing!