Friday, March 18, 2011

Finding My Way to Quieter Shores



Sleep is staying away tonight and so, here I am,
sitting at my table before a dark and starless window,
finding small pieces of beauty through poetry and music,
though it seems rather sad at the edges.
The wind pushes at the corners of the house,
mimicking the ocean, the rise and fall of lesser tides
on this dark sea of another long night.

It reminds me of the time I spent
last spring, asleep at the edge of the ocean,
the waves below my bedroom window
on those New England shores.
Here, next to the woods, I imagine the deer
out amongst the pines, their little group all bedded down,
lulled to sleep by half-full moons, sentries all around.

Moving from one thing to the next,
I wait for sleep to come, not knowing what I'm looking for
until I find it: the image in a restless dream,
the poem set to music, the stolen child looks back,
portending the poignant moment
when life itself went crazy
and her small world changed forever.







I wanted to write down my thoughts in the usual form and context, but the words wouldn't let me. They kept wanting to form themselves into poetry. So, finally I let them. Here is what I had found and was attempting to respond to:  The Waterboys and William Butler Yeats,  "The Stolen Child."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqAyfueYtT0


The photo is mine: the Atlantic Ocean at daybreak

14 comments:

  1. I hop that sleep has drifted in on your quiet shores. Thank you for this song clip, it's very beautiful.
    Sleep calls me now... I shall drift off with thoughts of wind in the trees and waves lapping the shores.

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  2. Oh those sleepless nights ~ I know them well! But sometimes that is when we are the most creative don't you think! :)

    Hoping you have a very restful weekend Teresa!
    xo Catherine

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  3. Beautiful words from you and also the song, sometimes sleep illuds me and that is when I read blogs and write my blog, hopefully you are sleeping peacefully now.

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  4. I am reading this after waking up from a good night's sleep. Sometimes, though, sleep stays away and I end up looking for it in all the wrong places. Very beautifully written piece, it was worth a few hours of non-sleep to come up with it. Easily said by me, who got her night's sleep.

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  5. Being Awake Has It's Compensations!
    Beautiful Post.

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  6. I have a hard time staying asleep a lot, even after a hard hike.I like to daydream of somewhere nice to fall back asleep. Your images took me into thoughts of the Gulf of Poets in Italy. I stay in Lerici always, and need to get back again soon.

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  7. Glad to meet another Kerouac fan !

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  8. You write so beautifully. Many times I find myself awake at night with a creative project in mind...and if I don't get up and write the idea down...at least some of it...in the morning it's gone. Maybe this says I need more quiet in my days. In fact...I think this just might be so. Thanks for bringing awareness to it. And thanks for allowing us to spend the night with you.Wishing you a restful and peaceful weekend.

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  9. Marilyn, Aren't those lovely ideas to fall asleep with?

    Catherine, I was reminded of my college days, eons ago now, when staying awake to create and Be was the Best! I have not one regret of sleep denied!

    Linda, Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I think the sleepless nights can yield great surprises if we let them.

    DJan, Being as active as you are helps sleep to come more readily, I suppose. A lesson I need to learn. I look back at the night, though, and realize it was more of a choice and it feels good. Despite being tired, it's a beautiful day.

    Tony, Thank you, Indeed it does!

    Steve, The Gulf of Poets in Italy !?! That sounds beyond wonderful!

    Paul, Very much so. He has long been an inspiration.

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  10. Maggie's Garden, Thank you so much! I love the ideas we seem to share at the same moments. Isn't it fun and inspiring, to see synchronicity? The weekend is beginning beautifully and a day to match. I wish the same for you.

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  11. I just put you on my blog roll...

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  12. Thank you, Paul, I will reciprocate. You have an interesting site with intriguing ideas.

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  13. Good use of your sleepless night!

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  14. Hi Linda! It was a good night to be sleepless, naturally.

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