I. The Mournerโ€™s Orbit

The comet flared and then was gone,
A single blaze, a single dawn,
No cradle kept, no breath to draw
Just radiant passing fire.

No cry.
No cry.
Only the mark
it carved through cold and soundless dark,
a scar across the mothering arc
of sky that will not tire.

It comes again when years return.
It comes in ice, in latent burn.
It comes in names we do not learn,
in whispers made of frost.

No plea.
No plea.
The orbit stays,
though memoryโ€™s edge grows thin with days,
and none can trace the vanished ways
of what was touched and lost.

I watch it cross the winter span,
the path the mortal soul once ran,
the silent oath of what began
and ended without breath.

No flame.
No flame.
Just emberโ€™s glow,
a passing that I still would know,
though starlight dims, though shadows grow,
though all returns to death.


II. The Cometโ€™s Orbit

I crossed the dark before your dawn,
No oath to keep, no gaze to fawn,
No cradleโ€™s claim, no binding drawn
Just motion without name.

No vow.
No vow.
Only the arc
inscribed in matter still and stark,
no witness lit to hold the mark,
no memory to claim.

I passed the world where you once wept,
But tears are waves the void has kept
They break, they fade, they leave no depth
for orbit to restore.

No sound.
No sound.
I do not stay.
The path is cold, the light is grey,
and gravity writes its own way
through dark that holds no shore.

I turn when all the stars are numb,
When burning cores have all gone,
When nothing speaks of what Iโ€™ve come
to cross and leave behind.

No face.
No face.
No mortal gaze
to mark the night or count the days.
The arc remains. The flame decays.
And none recall my mind.


III. Convergence

One flare.
No breath.
No cry to hush.
Unmasking truth the circuit weeps,
On Heaven’s terms its counsel keeps,
To nothing all returns

Fediverse reactions
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16 responses to “Twin Orbit/Convergence”

  1. danu40k Avatar

    And to dust and fading memory all doth finally return

    Even that, that is the immortal memory of all.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. D. H. Jervis Avatar

      Amen to that my friend.

      Like

  2. Jasmine on the Grave Avatar

    Yes. This is beautiful.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. D. H. Jervis Avatar

      Thank you sincerely โค

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Jasmine on the Grave Avatar

        You are welcome. โค

        Liked by 1 person

  3. simonashcroft - poet & photos Avatar

    From nothing. To nothing.

    In what dream is that memory held?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. D. H. Jervis Avatar

      Its so easy for us to experience cycles. As easy as it is to see faces in the clouds.
      I wonder if either are a reality.

      I commemorate the death of a child in November. The memory pulses back and forth over the year and over the years. The cycle seems real enough, but who knows what it becomes once it cycles back to nothing?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. simonashcroft - poet & photos Avatar

        I’m sorry that you have such an event to commemorate.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. D. H. Jervis Avatar

        Thank you. Its a while ago, 16 years. I couldn’t even say it out loud for a decade, let alone write about it in a public forum. Its easier now.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. simonashcroft - poet & photos Avatar

        There is, really, nothing I can say that would not seem either insensitive or crass, but I hear you.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. D. H. Jervis Avatar

        I understand. As a society we’re out of practice in talking to the bereaved and it becomes a bit nerve wracking.
        But thank you for your words.
        And thank you for continuing the conversation. Some people find it easier to say nothing at all, which for me, is more saddening than someone saying the “wrong” thing.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. simonashcroft - poet & photos Avatar

        I suppose not having had that particular experience, I feel unqualified to say much. But you are correct, as a society, we do not handle bereavement well.

        Liked by 1 person

      6. D. H. Jervis Avatar

        Yep, as far as losing a loved one goes its not a common experience, even anecdotally.
        Whereas we’ll all probably lose a grand/parent or sibling.

        Liked by 1 person

      7. simonashcroft - poet & photos Avatar

        Inevitably, as the years go on. It’s the price of one’s own survival.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. william sinclair manson (Billy.) Avatar

    yes born with nothing, die with nothing lol.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. D. H. Jervis Avatar

      Aye , its the bit in between thats the pain in the backside ๐Ÿ˜‰

      Liked by 1 person

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Thorn and Benediction
Thorn and Benediction
@dhjervis.xyz@dhjervis.xyz

Poetry
These poems are moments pulled from the folds of everyday life, memory, myth and imagination. They are invitations to pause, to notice, and to enter the spaces between words.

One written each day.

Some days are a prick.
Some are a blessing.

Thorn and Benediction.

My main social presence is at Wordpress.

https://dhjervis.xyz/

I would be delighted to connect with you there.

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