Summer Sky

Photo by Shashank Sahay on Unsplash

News came
of your death, and the summer sky
dissolved to black, held its breath
a long count
and exploded
in every color, sparks raining
down on the dark river
that flows as certain as your songs.

Deep blues, bright blues, mauve, and
rose pink fire; and the work
of mourning beneath
a celebration that inspires
marvel. And this: wreath after wreath of white
bloomed that night; there has never
been so much pure white light
in that usually gaudy display. White
for angels, purity, grief;
white, the color of absence.

Elizabeth Corse

Elizabeth Corse wrote her first song lyric at age four—her big sister remembered it for her. Since then, she’s studied creative writing with Lowry Pei, Brendan Kennelly, Paula Meehan, and others. She was surprised, recently, to realize my work has been published in four countries. She attends Moorestown (N.J.) Meeting.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maximum of 400 words or 2000 characters.

Comments on Friendsjournal.org may be used in the Forum of the print magazine and may be edited for length and clarity.