Blink Poem by Susan Lacovara

For just a hint of the look back
at what my life used to be
That I might recognize
the face in the mirror
that all too often appears a stranger,
somehow, wearing my clothes...

Where time has taken me
against my will,
banished me, to this solitary confinement
that is stagnating boredom
Where a stimulating conversation
is as rare as a dinosaur fossil...
and intellectual banter,
foreign as the hieroglyphics,
buried in the caverned dark

Might I close my eyes, momentarily
and return to the quiet of the hill
and be soothe by the melodic rhythm
of lapping lazy waves against the sand...
Ever stilled there, my senses and my soul
blanketed in the breathing night
far from this undeserved prison
Of empty status quo...
uninspired, complacent, drab...

That I may blink, and clear my gaze
and find it fixed, on a sweet mirage,
A welcoming deep oasis
To draw water to my parched lips
and quench my hungry thirst
Too long lying in the scorching staleness
that threatens the very serenity
I refuse to relinquish...
Blink, that there is a shift in sight
alas, a worthy reward, for all I've sacrificed,
Sanctified and solidified
for the sake of saving myself, unsurrendered