Trace the Edges

I lie in the grass
like I did as a child
and look up to the sky
trace my fingers along the edges of the clouds drifting by –

a ship with tall sails
cuts through the deep blue

a girl dances
in a billowing skirt

a hippopotamus sticks its head out of the river,
its mouth gaping,
or is it the mouth of a crocodile
lurking under the surface of the Nile

the egrets on the bank don’t look worried
they will grab their meals
and then take flight

there,
the canopy of a forest

there,
the mountain peaks

there,
a strange system of planets
in an alternate universe

there,
the little stone I skipped in the pond yesterday,
it went farther than I thought it could possibly go

like my dreams
of childhood and today,
soaring – these clouds –
stories I long to tell

to be seen by others
as they lie in the grass
and look up to the sky
and trace the edges
of me

~

Words and Photography ©2018 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me

Posted in poetry & free verse.

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29 thoughts on “Trace the Edges”

  4. This is good! It reminds me of the time when, as a child, we would sleep outside during the hot summer nights and look up at the stars

    Reply

      1. Yeah. I remember my old school days in the hills, and summer nights in Delhi when we would gaze up at the stars

        Now, we see smog. Sadly

      2. That is sad. I’m fortunate to live in place that is where I can see them on all but a cloudy night. You must escape to the country and gaze. 😊

      3. I have the privilege to live in Delhi, which is now reputed to be the world’s most polluted city.

        I do escape to the hills every now and then, and this will become more frequent once my son goes to college. However, I have to drive for a day, sometimes two, to get to my destination! Increasingly difficult to find tourist free spots

      4. That sounds like a lot of effort, but the stars are worth it, IMO. I have taken a few trips just to watch more of the night sky. 😊

      1. You are welcome, Tanya. The end of the school year is very busy. Still a week to go, then some down time. 🙂

  7. Pingback: Trace the Edges – The Militant Negro™

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