Where Have You Gone? Poem by Phoebe Riley

Where have you gone?
Where are you hiding?

Daytime
Scintillating sunlight suppresses you
Drains, depletes, debilitates
A limp desert cactus

Where have you gone?
Where are you hiding?

Light breaks through the dense clouds
Like water through a dam
It refracts and splits, a triangular prism
Rainbows paint the landscape
But you sit, fearful of fluorescence

Where have you gone?
Where are you hiding?

Violent temperatures tower
Sparks ignite, volcanoes erupt
Flames arise, coagulation
And cold fire washes over you.

Where have you gone?
Where are you hiding?

Clocks coil, corkscrew, cartwheel
Seconds spiralling, snake-like
Minutes meander

Where have you gone?
Where are you hiding?

Twilights tapestry, sweet liberation
Ropes severed, fractured, by an invisible sword
Bonds fractured, ruptured
Blistering frost slices through flesh
Like needles, a comforting pain

You ignite, illuminate, radiate
The funeral sky nourishes the ravenous monster
Tames the tangled concoction of emotions
Pours oil on troubled water.
Corners creep, motion
Accompanied by silent footsteps
The phantom unveils
Links click, unchain
Sinister wind detonates
No rage, thunder or fury

It screams, but in song