A MIST INHALED IN DARKNESS
By Rodney Rountree
circa 1991
(To the tune of “Turn the Page”, by Bob Seger)
(Poem #23 from "Poem Time Capsule")
I was sitting in the darkness,
With a throbbing in my head.
The loneliness was unbearable –
An empty ache in me.
Then desperation found me,
And with every breath my body took –
It began to creep inside.
A mist inhaled in darkness was filling up my soul.
And I felt my body shudder,
As my thoughts all turned cold.
I began to wonder who I was,
And where I’d come from,
But I couldn’t find the answers,
There was darkness all around.
I can’t remember how long I sat there all alone.
Then sunlight hit my eyes.
My head reeled in pain.
As I shrank from the glare, my desperation changed.
I could feel the heat rising from the sunlight on my skin.
The anger burned inside me,
As my thoughts turned to hate.
I felt my body’s tension,
My hands were clenched in fists.
All the world was out against me,
But it didn’t matter now – I would fight them all somehow!
The hours raced like seconds,
As I sat there all alone.
Raindrops fell upon me.
The fire in me died.
And I drew my arms together,
As I shivered in the cold.
Desperate sorrow shook me!
Tears began to show.
I cried aloud for someone! Anyone at all…
All I heard were rain drops falling,
Hitting hard against the ground.
I sat there in a downpour,
My thoughts were washed away –
Even sorrow drained right from me.
I was soaked through and through.
Now I’m sitting all alone,
No feeling left inside.
I can’t tell if it’s raining, or if it’s day or night.
Do not dare disturb me,
Sitting all alone,
Cause in my world of darkness,
No pain can reach me now.