Letter from Insomnia
Accepting Li Po’s tragedy,
apocryphal or not,
we embrace her imperfect
reflection
rippling in the breeze,
but manage to surface.
I once thought I would name a child Luna
and she would glow at night
and like Hendrix, kiss the sky.
But that was whimsy
and only candles light this room
at this hour
on this particular day
in this year of the snake.
And what fool would reach for a stone orbiting at
1,023 meters per second?
There are clouds to consider, the stars
and the scattering rain
and of course wine
and the possibilities within each glass
and the drops therein.
We must discuss these matters
under her gaze, where smallness gathers.
* * *
This originally appeared in Middle Gray in October, 2013. It was written in response to a poem my friend Michael sent me, replying to this poem.
Ah, Li Po. I am feeling very close to him these days, having again fallen out of my boat. Really enjoyed this piece, Bob.
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Thanks, Cate. And stay dry!
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Beautiful!
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Thank you!
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Wow !! You have a splendid blog !! Do read my new post Run of the mill @ https://wp.me/p8NgVO-ff and follow my blog if you like
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Also wanted to mention my new poem “Flower of Insomnia” if you have that time. Seems we share that as well. I really liked your insomnia poem, from Li Po to Hendrix… Cheers.
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I’ll be sure to read it. Thank you.
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I keep re-reading this, picking out lines I like, which turns out to be all of it. 😉
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😊
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Beautiful sense conjured as I read this … to sip wine by candlelight, reflecting, speculating, supposing, hoping, wondering how tomorrow will evolve following a sleepless night … you’ve captured this so well that I wish it were dark already … I’d go light a candle …. sacrifice a tomorrow for a tonight …
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The moon and candles and wine and good conversation!
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I really enjoyed these two pieces. So clever and beautifully crafted, as usual.
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These were fun to write. Michael enjoys mailing written missives, and I often respond to them via poems, as I did with these.
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I think that is wonderful!
When I remember how many letters my friends and I used to write, it blows my mind. Things have changed too much, imho. My letter writing muscles have atrophied! lol.
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I actually printed Letter to Austin and mailed it to him. 😁
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I love that. You’ve inspired me
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It seemed appropriate. 🙂
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Amazing poem
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Thank you, A-Jay.
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This fool, for one. (K)
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Then I’m in good company!
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Takes one to know one…
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