Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest: Running in the Rythm of the Dark

Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest, Entry 3, Reading Day

I know, today, I am supposed to just read. And I will. There are too many awesome poems that I don't want to miss, too many blogs to enjoy involved in Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest.


But, I woke up wanting to write/rewrite/post just one more poem.

I scribbled a bit, and then I looked through my files, and found one. It isn't the one I was thinking of originally. It's one that hit me in the gut, and reminded me that not everything is as simple as pen and ink.

This poem is dedicated to all the kids who have been hurt by someone they love, and adults who still live with the pain of childhood hurts. This poem is for the girl who told me that Job is her favorite book of the Bible.

Running in the Rythm of the Dark

She finds four walls invasive
reminders of harsh words,
hard fists, and the ragged sobs
of her mother
so she runs into the darkness
running circles around the
church.

She stops
by the bell tower, looks
up at the shadowy corners
where the bell waits
to ring away the cobwebs.
It stands still and she cannot,
running in the rythm of the dark.

She knows that boogiemen
don’t lurk in dark corners,
but lie their way through the day,
keeping their deeds hidden with
false smiles, or false tears
as needed.

They aren’t strangers
but the men we know
and call father, uncle, brother,
family friend
and yet, she knows some
are good, some are worthy
of trust.

She wonders why her father
who used to make her laugh
has turned out this way.
The pain twists inside from
the hurt love she still
feels for the man he was
once upon a time.

Now
in a moment of quiet
when she is tired enough
to stand still again,
she tells me her favorite
book of the Bible
is Job.



So, for all us writers - why do we write? Is it all just for fun? For a purpose? Can we write to heal the hurts and share the joys?




Scripture Blessings:

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said:
'Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words and without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you will answer me.'"
Job 38:1-3