Light

nowhere is now here
empty as transparent glass
revealing nothing

night becomes sunlight
the heart longs for such freedom—
light from darkness emerging

The Blue of Hours

We walked these beaches once
when we were young and love
seemed an easy pleasure

The sky was not indifferent then
to the torn land deprived of rain
and forever scarred by absence

This was an opulent beach in summer
rich with sea life and ruled by tides
that now have vanished into silence

We could say that everything changes
and crumbles into decay before an end
we hope is merciful and swift

But that would be the illusion we long for
the justification for emptiness and the fear
that eternity is itself an indifferent blue

Longing

the circular heart
finds its meaning
in straight lines parallel to the truth

the illusion of touching
always an infinite hope

just as trees throw shadows
from the shoreline to the river
rippling in moonlight

Profile: Christina Murphy