A Cup of Tea at the End of Time

The light’s gone out. The stars have ceased

To shine their brightness round the space they’d leased,

While every world’s waned to dust

Beneath the weight of eons glazed with rust.

Yet here we sit, with tea grown cold,

Upon some plane beyond temporal gold,

Afraid to drain the final drops

And see beyond when clockwork’s stirring stops.

 

This poem imagines the end of the universe, when all the energy of all the stars has dissipated, and everything fades to nothing. If any living thing remains at that point, I expect they'd wonder what comes next - what will wait beyond the end - but I also expect they'd be a little afraid of how their existence might change, or end, or continue in some unknown way. To a lesser extent, I suppose it's similar to the uncertainty we feel every day, unsure of what new turns our paths will take.

Forgiveness

Dark is the night that comforts me,

And gray does the morning dawn

With rainclouds holding vigil near,

Striped across the sky beneath the sun.

Dark do the shadows come for me

And stray on the warming lawn

But fade, evaporating clear,

Wiped away as hatred comes undone.

 

This poem is another one where, when I started writing, I didn't know what the theme was going to be. Eventually, the idea of a dark night and gray dawn transforming into a warm, renewed morning seemed to parallel the feeling of forgiving - of letting go of the hate you've been holding to move forward anew.

Perseverance

What is the chance that a raindrop falls

Precisely upon a speck of dust?

Does it matter?
Perhaps we’re safe to trust

That if the rain falls hard enough

The drops which flood the surface must,

As they scatter,

Wash away that stubborn speck of dust.

 

As you might imagine, this poem started while I was watching the rain outside, and looking at where the raindrops were falling on the ground. Eventually, I realized that this idea was something of a metaphor for perseverance: Even if we are not able to achieve a goal perfectly in a single attempt, continuing to try may eventually bring success - even if perfection still eludes us.

Friendship Fully Filled

What better indication

Of friendship fully filled

Than the opening of heart and home

And the harmony instilled

By the thoughts of those we’ve waited long

Again to hear and see?

Perhaps I sing a simple song,

But nothing’s more precious to me.

 

I've been traveling over the past couple of months - I have still been writing poetry, but haven't taken the time to actually post anything. Now that I'm back in Nairobi, here's one inspired by the fact that I got to see some friends during my travels. I think the meaning is pretty straightforward - those folks just mean a lot to me.