The Space between Thunder & Lightning

Have you ever thought about the space between?  Recently I sat writing a list of such things... This is a poem about what can go on during the moment between thunder and lightning ~ 

For me, creative writing is a type of subjective practical magic for the times when imagination knows no boundaries limiting access to dreams of other realms ~

It may surprise you how many you can come up with if you made your list.   So as the list grew, so did emotive thoughts expanding upon what the distance is or what it can mean to us....

Okay so things like the space between a rose bud and a blooming rose...planting a seed and then waiting for the harvest, the first step in a journey and then arriving at a destination, the space between love & hate, birth & the passing of life, black & white, The silk cocoon & the Butterfly, the moon & the earth etc...

The space is as infinite as the list of possibilities.   In this case I was thinking about the silent void between a visual bolt of Lightning and the Thunderclap breaking that silence...how many times I have waited in that "space", that "limbo ," counting the distance between ...

The Space Between Thunder and Lightning

Standing at the threshold in the silent space

between thunder and lightening

Straddling the door sill of uncertainty,

stranded in a continuum of discontent

One foot in…One foot out

It's just a  step away…One foot forward

while the other follows the wanderlust 

of an evolving enigma

The first step begins

a journey of a thousand miles

Walk to the end of this long and winding road

Carry the weight of an unfinished life in this soul

Breathe in the stillness

of the tempest calm

The ethereal instant within

the eerie pause  of natural hesitation

The exhilarating silent fusion linking the anticipation

between the bolt of lightning and the thunderclap ;

nature’s well performed sleight of hand

Two souls touch igniting carnal synthesis

Reaching upward to the heavens they draw strength

from the spirit of the lightening and the hail

The ominous sky’s anger … the storm’s fury fuel's the essence of verve

Vibrant celestial elements manifests a drenching downpour 

Heightened senses are enhanced by an electric aura

squeezing out every last drop

from the enchanting moment of stunned silence 

Spirits transcend a cleansing rain ... invigorating heart of soul ~

©Harlon Rivers 2013 ...February 28th, 2013

" A Bird in the Hand "

A Bird in the Hand

A sound was heard at my

garden door

A feathered smudge found upon it

There she lay in frightened

trembling dismay

A giant knelt... yet still towering above her

He reached out and touched her

pounding heart

Then cupped her warmth in his hand

She stayed awhile until

she could smile

At the gentle human mystery 

This love they shared

is uncommonly rare

She knew she could be freed

Before she flew

she whispered a song she knew

into the giant’s  beard

“I cannot make you happy"

"You're a wounded bird like me"

"be free...you must find the strength to fly”…

A bird in your hand

is worth two in the bush

"Come fly away with me"...

© 2012 Harlon Rivers … All Rights Reserved

Written March 1^st, 2012

Trees We Climb Upon

Trees We Climb Upon

Climbing like a child of the limbs
destined for visions of grandeur
Roots aspire to push growth , above and beyond ,
from the bed rock of grounded beginnings

Insatiable anticipation rising recklessly
Intention expanding further than unknown pinnacles
Destinations sought with blind hope
seeking indivisible unseen new horizons

A place where nature’s magnificent trunks evolve
into the branches that stretch
out into the infinite universe,
providing a guiding stairway extending beyond the heavens

Where the union of compatible spirits
manifesting buoyant thoughts,
illuminate dreams,
beyond the obscure threshold into oneness

Uncertainty blurs an elevated labyrinth passage
through branches and limb’s web of intersections ;
weaving a pathway leading to the next step forward
towards the summit to unveil the vague clarity

Breathing in the subsistence of faith
with an unnoticed yet freshly awakened fervor
Exhaling an essence of glowing hope
while groping for the next higher branch   

Manually ascending through disappointments
bearing the careless burden of wild hope
Aspiring to grasp branches never reached
while searching for unimaginable heights

Insensible understanding yields doubt ;
knowing slick branches have broken before
from far too heavy of a load to bear
Freely falling from the hidden places
where trees lean into the sky

Owls chatter through the winter night
As day breaks, increasing sunlight radiates
upon the slippery mossy bark adorned ladder
leading sky-bound by daylight

" Oh ancient spirit of the soul of all trees "
" Please don’t let the child of the limbs
slip and fall from your amazing grace "
Awakening ... is expecting to fly ~

Harlon Rivers ... February 7 th, 2013 

"A Vacant Room Left Behind"

... from "The Diary of the Falling Dominoes" chapters

the halls are all empty

where a thriving joy

once dwelled ;

simplicity

moved on ~

dusk followed

eyes wide open ,

infinite raindrops

counted

… one by one

shadows

absorbed

the

lucid

glow

… darkness

consumes,

all heart's ache

have known

stars turn blue

day lilies' dawn

of surrender

blossoms bow,

black cloud's

dull pain lingers

total eclipsed shine

veils truth of luminosity

 love guide the way

out of darkness ~

into the truth and the light ' …