life is like a parable
i
i settle for the half-
lit life of city lights
dome of dimmed
glow like a flashlight fading
on half-dead double a’s
highway headlamps at height
traverse the terrain
it’s all just enough
to see near
but not clear
and so i carry on
ii
Zoe and Sophia skipped
town a while back
now before
the big box bombardment began
i hardly noticed
half-asleep as i am
iii
i always sleep
with a night
light on
incandescent bulb casting a slight orbed glow
against the half-white eggshell
walls of my foursquare room
i can’t bring myself
to venture into the dark
with its threat to consume me
too many unknowns
as i lie in the half-dark
i do wonder where
Zoe and Sophia are now
iv
i can ignore it no longer
a niggling nag gnawing
why did they leave
where have they gone
where am i
what is left of me
v
my settled self shifts
imperceptibly at first
as the questions grow
slowly i see the half-wayness
sowing the seeds of the winter
of my discontent
i must find Zoe and Sophia
vi
i’ve really done it now
arms outstretched
swallowed in blackness
groping my way
through a field –
i think – can’t be sure
moist mud gently caresses my feet
a comforting breeze strokes my face
whispering a song i can’t quite place
where to from here
vii
i sit
i wait
viii
the first rejoicing rays
of new day running its course
awaken me
bounded by the invisible fence of city glow
all these years i haven’t seen
ix
as the sun emerges
from its heaven-laid tent
there they are
in the dim layered light
Zoe and Sophia
silhouettes bent over
vigorously planting seeds
in a far-from perfect field
choking weeds have invaded
bare patches of soil hardened
but their labour is earnest
and their weathered hands
compassionately seek
supple soil
ready to receive
x
i realize
i have stumbled upon a great treasure
the girls have led me home
drawn me out through darkness
i have begun to sprout
xi
last night i slept
without a night
light but my whole
world was aglow
with budding green
Written by Scott Moore
Illustrated by Landon Wideman
Inspired January 2022