New Poetry by Scottish Writer DS Coremans #FoDiByLi
Wednesday 21 September 2021
Senryu – Rest
Admit you are tired;
rather than pretend to be
ready and rested.
2021©DSCoremans
Fib – Rest
Rest.
Sleep;
dreaming
not wasted
time. To recover
you must stop to reflect each day.
2021©DSCoremans
Sonnet – Rest Required
Will the lines under my eyes ever leave?
I wear them like scars, left against will,
not badges of honour, but duty; still
they are with me and offer no reprieve.
The cards against my chest came from my sleeve;
I held them back, hoping to play, until
I realised I could rely on skill.
There is no easy out for the naive.
Working hard until we can play again.
Required rest always second to needs
of those who come before us at all times.
Holding out hope, rather than holding friends;
a nourished mind heals not a heart which bleeds.
The ground grows ever steeper as you climb.
2021©DSCoremans
Triolet – Close Your Eyes
As your eyes close each night
breath deeply before dreaming.
Eyes closed, you still have sight,
as your eyes close each night.
Until the morning light
through your window comes streaming;
keep both your eyes closed tight,
breath deeply and keep dreaming.
2021©DSCoremans
Author’s Note:
I woke this morning with a sense of pride in my achievements as of late that I often overlook. The craft and practices I have honed over a long and stressful summer have begun to take shape in their own way. Seeds long ago planted and nurtured are blooming and the beauty of their flowers fill me with a sense of unexpected admiration.
I feel for the first time in a long time that I am where I am meant to be, even if that is not where I expected to be or would have chosen had I been offered alternate options. But moving on to the next step in my academic journey in particular though not in the format I have long desired, I am none the less confident in my place in the world and in the things I am doing.
I have not been particularly active online over this long summer, but this has been essential downtime, an acceptance that I cannot do everything. I am thankful for the rest I have given myself, even while still busy, I have started and finished projects that I would never have considered had I not given myself the time to do only what I needed to.
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
John Lubbock, The Use Of Life
As I looked into the mirror this morning I was struck by how different I looked; even though I wore the same face I have worn these past 32 years. It seemed different, like the lines upon it had changed and in doing so the face I thought I knew had become somehow different…the lines perhaps contained the stories I have not yet told.
The lines I do not recognise seem like scars, picked up in battles I do not remember fighting. I am however choosing to embrace them, they are as much a part of me now as the experience which led me to wear them and this is what the Sonnet ‘Rest Required’ is about. The acceptance of ones duty, and all that comes with it.
The companion poems are all in their own way about embracing ourselves fully, not pushing too hard…resting when required.
DSC
21/09/2021
Haiku – Light Dreaming
Like the sun rises,
dream bright and dispel shadow,
you will understand.
2021©DSCoremans
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