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Once Upon a Semester


I am in the glass store; the small storefront
near the yoga studio and the eye doctor and...
well, the gift store closed last month.

I walked past the blank darkness earlier.

It reminded me of sleeping and waking,
a city beneath me, then swirling down into it,
my eyes young enough to see every glint.

Sleeping and waking into the university city;
now my hair is wilder, wispier, and the dark glass
shows a parking lot, a road, dust patterns.

This familiar emptiness fills glass, this broad sky
in which I've been sleeping and waking allows
for breathing, when I'm already city-filled.

Sharing with The Sunday Muse #168

-- Chrissa

Comments

  1. Oh wow. I loved this, so good. And the last lines -- the emptiness giving you room to breathe. Unexpected and both tragic and wonderful. The holes in the world dark yet permitting light.

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  2. I second what Qbit said. The broad span of time perspective shown is brilliant! An amazing poem my friend!!

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  3. Familiar emptiness .... brilliant.

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  4. Really fine poetry, Chrissa. One of my favorites of yours for sure.

    I couldn't help but flash on this song:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJb__Uczlos

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  5. :City-filled". Described me so often in my working life; happy now to live on the fringes!

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  6. That's brilliant! The way you captured the feel of the city life ...awesome poem, Chrissa!

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  7. The city becomes a part of who you are when you live there. Good description of it, Chrissa.

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  8. I hate to see all of the closed businesses and hear of the evictions of those not able to have a home because of low savings. We shopped at the 99 Cent Store after church for a few minutes and coming out I notice that one of the shops nearby had closed. Every now and then we ate at Luby's or Fudrucker's but ours close by is closed. There are others which were bought out and have stayed open.
    ..

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  9. Reminiscent of the now that we live in, beautifully written.

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  10. ' City filled' - what a great way to explain a townies life. :-)

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  11. "already city-filled"

    Great line, Chrissa. I love the use of glass in this.

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