Mark Laurent – Blue Sky Morning

Laurent LE P&W August 2024

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Live Encounters Poetry & Writing August 2024

Blue Sky Morning, poems by Mark Laurent.


Blue Sky Morning

Early on a blue sky morning
the tall city still sleeping
air autumn crisp
eyes blinking, mind opening
tiredness receding from late bones

In younger days I always rose early
a hunter of epiphanies
mildly obsessed by bright shadows
– things that just might be

Somewhere among the days
my zest for wonder faltered
bed became too familiar

I’m trying to work out
how many mornings have woken me
but schoolboy arithmatic is faltering too
– maybe twenty-five thousand…?
that’s quite a few mornings
quite a few epiphanies
quite a few repentances
quite a few breakfasts

Sun peeks over the horizon
– glows against mirror glass
as near-full moon sets
behind high-rise ramparts

I still hope to make an epiphany
of blue sky mornings
– the light I receive

Sometimes I do.


Ruby

(a letter to a dying friend)
Hi Ruby
I wish I had healing hands
I want to have so much faith
that I could reach across the miles
and touch your failing body
with that power you need
to get you on your feet again
running and dancing
through those flower-strewn fields
you wander in your dreams
I wish I had words so strong
so full of life and breath
they’d shake the foundations of the earth
make her set you free
give up that clinging grasp
with which she tries to hold you down
and those dark mountain clouds
would have to move aside
and let the sun shine on your lovely face
But all I have is these words
and a yearning in my heart
that God will hold you close
and whisper – lips soft against your hair –
hold you still and warm till morning
when you hear that first bird singing
and know his song is for you
because you are love’s best reason
for the sun to keep on rising.

© Mark Laurent

Mark Laurent is a professional musician and writer. He’s recorded over 20 albums, worked as a recording producer and session musician, as well as touring NZ, Australia and the UK for several decades. Mark has published 4 collections of poetry, an illustrated children’s book, and has written numerous articles and reviews for New Zealand and international magazines. He is currently putting the finishing touches on an anthology of poetry and short prose, as well as a candid memoir of the 1970s hippie scene in Aotearoa. He lives in Auckland. https://marklaurent.bandcamp.com/

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