Saturday, September 26, 2015

Nightfall


KAREN KILIMNIK
MY WALK BY MY WOODS – EARLY EVENING – FULL MOON, 2007
WATER SOLUBLE OIL COLOR ON CANVAS
30,5 X 23 CM
Nightfall

“Faith sees best in the dark.”
~ Kierkegaard

Darkness slides in.

Curled on wild thoughts,
you see light in a distant
window, hear pots clang
in someone's  kitchen.

You feel for a candle.

But the darkness lifts your arms,
moves about your knees,
and softens your gaze.

It uncurls your fingers,
and in your palm, it
places a mystery

You begin to see
the dark curves unfold.
You remember.

                                        The doe moves
                                        along a moonless
                                        trail, shy and
                                        hungry. She makes
                                        her way quietly.

                                        Without warning,
                                        the path opens.
                                        Another has been here,
                                        has pressed the wild
                                        grasses down, warmed
                                        them like a nest.

                                       Ringed by whispers
                                       in the dark trees,
                                       she can close her eyes.

This is not how you stay safe.

This is how you survive.


Kathleen Kimball-Baker – September 2015

2 comments:

Michael said...

I really like this. At first I thought...zombies. Then...I thought 1700s snowy woods. All in all, it has that age old feeling of practiced survival.

Kathleen said...

Wow. That's cool, Michael. Zombies were not on my radar screen. But survival,m definitely. Thanks for reading and commenting!