‘Sunset,’ ‘Sunrise,’ and Other Poetry by Elena Sichrovsky

Sunset

Daylight shines with the glow of the first morn
Glittering rays of laughter soft and warm
There’s no end to this heaven you’ve known
Until the day you find shadows have grown
You’re forced to face the facts and realize
That even the sun sets in paradise

Daylight trembles, for the first time flickers,
Radiance fades with a chilling shiver
The sun slips down from its realm in the sky
Unable to watch a perfect world die
With the happiness that cradled your lives
But even the sun sets in paradise

Daylight is gone, leaving a painful trace
Of its last glimmer in the tears on your face
The sun takes its last breath in the darkness
There’s nothing that breaks your heart more than this
But see beyond the river in your eyes
The sun will rise again in paradise

Sunrise

Shadows fall across the paper
Over the last strokes of your pen
Icy breezes of wind whisper
From the window that’s cracked open

One thin beam of moonlight pierces
Through the curtains that are drawn
Lighting up the scattered pieces
Of a perfect dream that’s now gone

The world is already asleep
But you’re sitting up till daybreak
There’s no use in trying to keep
Eyes closed when pain is still awake

The pen slips from your fingers
For there is nothing left to write
The room suddenly grows darker
As faith is swallowed up by night

You know that you should be sleeping
But the dark paralyzes you
And so instead you start dreaming
Of morning rays that you once knew

When the light ripped through the shutters
Bathing your hands and feet in gold
You start dreaming about summer
Though outside still stings bitter cold

You are still dreaming, and then dreams
Start transforming before your eyes
The walls are glowing with hope’s beams
The air is drenched in dawn’s surprise

Light comes creeping through the window
Spilling out as your paper flies
Into the shinning sky aglow
With the brilliance of sunrise!

You Are There

I hold out my fingers in the air
Trying to catch a wisp of your breath
You promised that your scent would be there
Undiminished by the thorns of death

I hold out my fingers in the air
Hoping to touch you as you brush by
You promised your presence would be there
Unafraid of the dark, starless sky

I hold out my fingers in the air
Grasping for the last tip of your wings
You promised you would take your flight there
Unruffled by the tempest wind brings

I hold out my fingers in the air
Feeling for the warmth of your bright face
You promised your smile would shine there
Unchanged by the pain of your last race

I hold out my fingers in the air
And suddenly I know you are there

Seeing

Two eyes reflecting the brilliant sky
To see the track unfold beneath your wheels
To see the birds above urge you to fly
And know how wind brushing against skin feels

Two eyes to see something ahead looming
Suddenly you are slamming brutally
Into sharp metal that sends you reeling
As tires screech and squeal frantically

Footsteps come running, someone calls your name
But no reply, not even a whisper
From the mangled remains of a crushed frame
That crumbles in a ghastly red splatter

Two eyes blinded in the shuddering midnight
That break open to a new world of pain
Where everything that seemed just within sight
Is gone with the falling of bitter rain

One eye brimming with the last tears to cry
To see the mirror screaming in horror
To see each stitch like a knife in your eye
And know that your lifelong dream is over

One eye to see the sun spill a bright ray
Across your blanket in a pattern of gold
Finding the treasure in every new day
Like a hard-fought victory in your hold

Footsteps come softly, someone holds your hand
Like the comforting wings of an angel
Love pours a river through the desert sands
And each color hope paints is more beautiful

One eye looking ahead to the starlight
That clings to the sky bravely twinkling
Smiling with your face turned to the light
With only one eye, but seeing, truly seeing

This poem was written after I read about Formula 1 driver Maria de Villota’s near-fatal car crash. The 32-year-old Spaniard, only one of two woman F1 drivers, crashed into a stationary vehicle during a practice session on July 3, 2012, and sustained life-threatening injuries. She recovered but lost her right eye as well as her sense of smell and taste. Villota later recalled, ”The first day I looked at myself in the mirror I had 140 black stitches on my face, and they looked like they had been stitched with a boat rope. When I saw my eye, I was terrified. When I saw myself I thought ‘Who is going to love me looking like that?’ But since then I’ve realized they love me more than in a whole life.”  She told reporters at the headquarters of the Spanish sports council, “Before, I only saw Formula One, I only saw myself in a car competing and did not see what was important in life, the clarity to say ‘I am alive’. This eye has given me my bearings, given me back what is important, and I accept it with the energy to say I am going to live out this chance 100 percent.” And while two more operations are still on the road to recovery, Villota remains optimistic, ”I am sure the best is yet to come.”

The Poetess: I am a student living with my family in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Poetry is one of my passions and I’ve been writing since my early teens but have never received any formal training or joined any competitions. My poems are often inspired by by the various people and situations I hear of or read about in the news.

These poems are among the entries for the Society of Classical Poets’ 2012 Poetry Competition.

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