Shimmer Poem by Jacques Fleury

It is that great bundle that titillates my yearnings;

That cagey combination of blood orange sunsets and lambent moons;

Pellucid mornings and dazzling noons;

Ready made peace that would

Piece together my amorphous path,

Emblematic of my mind:

The zenith of my existence!

Harkening back to crisp wastelands of my youth;

Yearning for what was then

The great mystery of years yet to be golden,

Plenty of time to furnish fantasies forbidden;

Only then it dawns on me

My wish is being manifested as a

Prima facie case of disillusionment

As time lapses like a creep! from

Seconds-minutes-hours-days-weeks-months

And crescendoing years….

Juvenility transmutes to opaque memories to remember

Sitting by a river watching the water flicker;

I try with my lacquered eyes to soak in its luminosity;

Heeding echoes of forsaken adolescence like the jocular exuberance

Of tykes doing a rough-hewn dance;

Rather than be bereaved in a coffin of longing and regret

I am gradually grateful for LIVING!

As the precarious impermanence of life persists

Just breathe and don't resist…

Heed the following:

Resistance to existence is the root of suffering!

Nurture and trust your light and don't judge the universe,

For it is unfolding as it most likely should…

Don't be an 'I am this…' or an 'I am that…'

Just BE and like the light of forever.

You will assuredly shimmer!

Jacques Fleury is a Haitian-American poet, educator and author. His book 'Sparks in the Dark: A Lighter Shade of Blue, A Poetic Memoir' about life in Haiti & America was featured in the Boston Globe. 'It's Always Sunrise Somewhere and Other Stories' is a collection of short fictional stories spanning the pervasive human condition. His latest book, Chain Letter to America: The One Thing You Can Do to End Racism, explores xenophobia in America is available at the Harvard Book Store and worldwide online. His CD A Lighter Shade of Blue as a lyrics writer with neo-folk group Sweet Wednesday is available on ITunes and Spotify.