I work upward

Mining heart from darkness

Day 24 of 30 Days of Poetry, Autumn 2024

I work upward.
A day begins and,
though it insists on
descending toward night,
I spiral time 
upwards toward heaven.
I am grinding salt
from stone,
mining heart
from darkness.
My muscles moan in resistance
as I push into the stretch.
I face the winter wind,
brace against the liquid scorn
spraying from 
familiar tongues.
I lean on myself --
though I hear laboring
breaths beside me,
we each must walk our own way.
Once my mother carried me, 
showed me where to go--
I had to step out into 
my own life,
my weight pressing
footprints into the earth --
Cookie cutter dreams 
of flying, falling, but
I brush them away,
waking to another insistent sun.
The weary cry
repeats itself,
to hunt to save
to climb to arrive
where where
when 
thoughtless winds pass by
on their merry way.
I work upward
muscles moaning
in resistance,
mining heart 
from darkness.

---

Today’s poem is from my friend Georgina’s word “stretch.”

I am inspired by the hard work, commitment, mental strength it takes to do anything well, for a long time. This is especially true of those who are dedicated over long periods of time to improve themselves in something like sport, music, art, etc.