Up in the middle of the night, the pounding in his temples
A deafening echo of yesterday’s loss, and of the days’ before,
He wished hard for a distraction, but none was forthcoming.
Maybe a dog’s barking soon, or rain? Hell, even hail would do!
Even the worst of those moments he wants now
Even the most mundane when he closes his eyes can be back
He’ll live in the past and he’ll await what is to come
But now he’ll deny until it fades into being gone
In the shadows, his mind tracks his breath’s shallow cadence.
In. Out. One. Two. Time begins to unravel.
Bringing snapshots of memories overlapped and strewn about.
Each to be stored and savored, safe from coming storms.
In shrines and boxes he stored, wrapped in tissue-paper
sparkling turquoise glitter by the sea, the spell of spring
when buds are bursting, the smell of roses and the warmth
of the hand he held proposing and his heartbeats when she smiled.
The darkest-hour gloom is shrinking now.
He’s lost the chance for the solace of sleep.
Pools of viscous darkness still linger in his mind,
Yet hope begins to flutter behind tired eyes.
The dawn presages one more earthly spin
for this rocky outcrop in a distant arm
Of this glorious galaxy of stars,
Where precious hearts will race, precarious.
As rays of light penetrate his turbulent thoughts,
New resolutions coalesce and are released
Destruction always leads on to renewal and rebuilding
Where forgiveness can be the mortar of this new life
Together.
Collaborative poetry by @permabloom, @troublegummer, @myvogonpoetry, @brudberg, @sleepingdingo, @stair71 and @vivchook
The voice of collaborative poetry 
Reblogged this on Björn Rudbergs writings and commented:
Our latest collaborative poetry.. I will link it to OLN at dVerse.
This is truly beautiful …that 3rd stanza is so poignant and real.
Writing collaborations like this gives good results I think.
nice truth there in the end…that destruction leads to new life….in the end it comes down to us letting it…and letting forgiveness will those spaces that put things back together….
Beautiful with a hint of hope at the end. 🙂 — Suzanne
Collaborative poetry can be tough as well, quite the achievement to find so many poets on the same vibe. You make it seem so easy, brother; good on you.
I like this very much, kudos to you all!
Hiya Bjorn, feels good to be back at your page – really loved the fourth stanza here and his it is set against the weight of the poem, as it moves steadily towards resolution… With Best Wishes
So much darkness, saved by a tinge of light. I feel the effect of that cold Scandinavian climate in this poem. Nicely penned collaboration.
Collaborative, huh? Impressive how well it works. Very nice how the voices blend.
Destruction can lead to new life.. if we let it. Certainly better than the alternative! Nice collaboration!
Destruction always leads on to renewal and rebuilding
Where forgiveness can be the mortar of this new life
There is always blessing that follows destruction. One may not see it readily as it must be searched for or discovered. Element of forgiveness is often necessary. Wonderful write Bjorn!
Hank
This is simply gorgeous, especially the fourth stanza! “sparkling turquoise glitter by the sea, the spell of spring”
Interesting how the tone and feel of the poem is consistent throughout the poem!
Interesting how another one’s words or even a collaborative effort like this can bring one back to a reality that is once then.. for them…
And this does it for me.. as i’ve been to the place of this man.. all to well.. and reading this makes me appreciate now.. more than ever….
So the sharing goes on.. and souls share what they are…or could be…:) or will be.. to be.. or not to be……
I don’t know how you keep the coherence when writing collaborative poetry. Whenever I’ve tried it, some bright spark always seems to twist the thread, making it impossible to follow. Yours is fantastic, if a little sad.
You really do speak with one voice – seamless…
yes, forgiveness is such a hard thing, and such an important one. once again this reads as one voice, a seamless collaboration, just lovely!
A lovely collaboration..forgiveness the mortar of this new life..it is the cohesiveness of a strong foundation..well done everyone.
Seamless and interesting poem.
That is true, what gets destroyed can birth something new.