Traces
Hidden in grey crevasses
out of sight
during years uncounted
a small, intense flame
I didn’t know was there
flickered
All these years
I searched my soul
for the water
to quench a fire
to quiet a roar
still in memory
Even today
my skin is scorched
burning at memory
of your touch
Yet
from the charcoal
of that long ago
green rises in me
~ Andy Michaelson
Andy Michaelson: There are three sides to Andy the writer. There’s a poet, a promoter and an administrator. All three sides can barely contain themselves when writing, talking or promoting poetry. “I’ll try anything twice,†he says, “As long the activity advances the craft.†Andy recently received the St. Albert Mayor’s Award for Arts Promotion, sponsored by Alberta Culture and Community Spirit.
Read more of Andy Michaelson’s poetry:
– Grandfathers
– Away and Home
There’s a phoenix-like quality about this poem that I find appealing. It’s heightened , i think, by the use of contrasting colours – grey / flame, charcoal /green & also by the sounds
of words like scorched / crevasses / quenched. The backdrop note of memory & melancholy makes it somewhat poignant. Nice!