POETRY FORUM

Night Wings

by Devorah Titunik on March 1, 2021 :: 0 comments

I was contracted to marry a powerful Emperor
In Ancient China. A total stranger who terrified me.

My friends envied the fabulous gifts I was sent.
But what do fine silks and jewels matter when expected
To leave everything you know and live with
A stranger in a strange land?

I didn’t love him, but in time I grew to like him.
Together we created a magic palace whose tricks and
Secrets people would still be trying to uncover
A thousand years later. I know this because I was
There as an explorer in the 21st century too.

I watched the sun rise over a valley filled with flowers.
Rainbows burst to life as the rays hit the waterfalls.

I established an orphanage on the moon. Led my
Warriors to victory. Had conversations with Caesar
And danced on the rings of Saturn.

My reality may be full of stress and my days empty,
But when I drift off at night, I rise.

I become a queen, a warrior, explorer and so much more.

I forget the fear, anxiety and loneliness of my reality
And soar through time and space in my dreams.
All that weighs me down melts away and I grow wings.

editors note:

Yes to the place where everyone can fly. – mh clay

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

A bit about Devorah: I can’t remember a time I started writing poetry, it’s something I’ve done as far back as I can remember. I never used to do anything with my poems, including giving them titles, but just kept a notebook, but my mother would sometimes go through it and type up and title some of them. I was first published when I was 11 years old after my mother submitted one of my poems to a publisher that was putting together a poetry anthology at the University of Michigan. I’ve been involved in various kinds of arts all my life. I did a lot of performing as a child, singing, and acting. My father was a professor of Russian Language and Literature at the University of Michigan and his office was in the same building as the theater department. Whenever they needed a child to play a role in a play, I was the one they used. When I was six while my father was on sabbatical in Russia, the rest of us stayed in England where I studied theater every Saturday at the Drury Lane Theater in London, where they taught singing, dance, and elocution. At that time Camelot was playing at the theater and I got to know Elizabeth Larner (who played Guinevere) who showed me around backstage and fueled my love of performing. To me, artistic expression is like water; you can’t survive long without it. If I don’t write, sketch, paint, or perform often enough, I feel like I wouldn’t survive. I am most gratified when my art helps others; when, after reading or posting a poem someone tells me that before that they felt they were alone and now they don’t. I believe art is necessary in this world that can so often be hard and cruel. It gives people a place to both escape and relate, and is sadly way too undervalued in society today.