Another Poem

Searching for Evolution

by Marlene G. McNew*

Where did I leave my keys?

I gave them to you, didn’t I?

You keep trying to throw them back.

And I keep walking in prayer circles,

my head bowed, eyes closed

wishing for stunted growth,

an oath I took to keep myself small,

insulated from the harsh,

never- ending echoes

of lightning’s song

misunderstood.

I keep myself tiny as if

wishing to fit through the magic

keyhole, the promised land

of breathing clouds and unrestricted air.

The truth is I am too nebulous

to gather my cells into cohesive flow.

So raging large and unkempt hues,

I float in unbound circles,

bumping into concrete walls,

as predictably as waves seeking rocks

to crash against.

But I begin to hear a vague melody

on the other side of this blue wall of  hail.

It is a siren song, my composition

of broken pieces melded into harmony

I hear the whispered words that call:

Hey you!  Toss me those keys back!

They are mine to keep.

I asked you to watch them, to treasure

my trust in you.

I did not intend to nail you behind a shut door,

to keep you hostage, to gift you my divinity.

I did not mean to lose my way,

to overstay this sweet visit

with your voice, so seemingly steadfast.

I did not mean to trip into your

weary rest from rocks.

Hand me those keys please.

I will find the road to sunrise

on my own, alone but not,

adrift in purpose,

the saving of my own life.



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