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A Brief Respite

From murky depths, I rise, by duty fetched,
And breaking surface in the waking world,
I find my horizontal self outstretched,
Exposed to view, like some old map unfurled.

Upon this couch, I sink with gentle sighs
Into its softness, briefly now set free
From stresses, like a caravel that lies
Half-buried at the bottom of the sea.

I lie here motionless, my frame pinned down
By some strange force, and feel the moments pass,
Like some rare insect, having once been found,
That lies impaled and kept behind clear glass.

My eyes fixed on the ceiling overhead,
A sweet paralysis holds every limb,
Cadaver like. Though one might think me dead,
My breathing shows my state is not so grim.

The metronomic motion of my chest
Is like the heaving of a placid sea,
Which rises, falls, not hasting, nor at rest,
Its ceaseless movement steady as can be.

How sweet these fleeting moments! Yet how soon
The respite ends, for once again, I must
Set time in motion, face the afternoon,
Arising with aggressive upward thrust.

Opposing all the claims of gravity,
I stand to face life, confident and bold,
Defiant in my verticality,
Resolved to shoulder cares and bear life’s load.

I’ll keep each plate of duty spinning still
Upon its pole, unfazed in hours of strife,
As by God’s grace, I seek to do His will
In this outlandish juggling act called “life.”

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Martin Rizley grew up in Oklahoma and in Texas, and has served in pastoral ministry both in the United States and in Europe. He is currently serving as the pastor of a small evangelical church in the city of Málaga on the southern coast of Spain, where he lives with his wife and daughter. 

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17 Responses

  1. Cynthia Erlandson

    There are so many truly wonderful metaphors here: the caravel under the sea; the insect under glass; the “metronomic” breathing; the spinning plates! Who would have thought that a deep sleep could be described in so many ways? I also love the word “verticality”. This was a great poem to wake up to!

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Thanks, Cynthia, for your feedback. It was many years ago that I first jotted down the germ of this poem in free verse form, after waking up from a long and refreshing afternoon nap that came at an especially stressful period of my life. Now I have rewritten the poem in metrical form with rhythm and rhyme, but the metaphors are the same ones that I used in that first draft.

      Reply
  2. Jeremiah Johnson

    Truly – ’tis an “outlandish juggling act”!

    Someone once told me that, of the different balls we juggle, “work” is the one that we can afford to drop and pick back up again.

    I also like “arising with aggressive upward thrust.” Some days it feels like that’s what it takes to hop out of the blankets. Like a rocket taking off from Cape Canaveral!

    Thanks for some fun metaphors and good encouragement to keep on keepin’ on!

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley Rizley

      Thanks, Jeremiah! I love the “rocket” metaphor you have added to the picture here painted. It aptly describes the hercuelean effort sometimes required to “hop out of the blankets,” as you put it. Although these days, I don´t so much “hop”as I “emerge” slowly from them as from a chrysalis!

      Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson

    So many creative images when awakening in the morning! I wonder if you started this poem when you woke up. You kept me guessing until near the end as to the intent and object. You made me read this with innate fascination and anticipation.

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Thanks, Roy, for your feedback. As I told Cynthia, I did indeed start jotting down the images for the poem after waking up from a long afternoon nap. That was many years ago. It is only recently, however, that I have rewritten the poem in versified form, with meter and rhyme.

      Reply
  4. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    I simply love this poem, Martin, for its craftmanship – your employment of poetic devices is superb; its smooth and easy flow – great use of rhyme and meter; its encouraging message – a message of love and hope to spur me on through “this outlandish juggling act called “life””; and most of all, for its sensory nature. Every image you create with spot-on metaphors immerses me in the magic of the somnolent moment to the point of refreshment. Your beautiful poem is “a brief respite” indeed. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Thank you so much, Susan, for your encouraging critique. I am glad you were able to feel refreshed just from reading the poem! Many years have passed since I first jotted down these thoughts in free verse, but I still find a refreshing nap in the middle of a busy day– the sensation of time stopping briefly for one´s batteries to be recharged– to be one of life´s little delights.

      Reply
  6. Shamik Banerjee

    Honestly, Mr. Rizley, every line of this poem echoes the essence of the title. How interesting and incredibly mesmerising it is that respite, a daily needful, can be turned into a work that not only lets the reader sink in the warmth and softness of this poem (just like the speaker here does with gentle sighs) but also gives him the inspiration to get inspired from the simplest of things in life and verse about them. This is not just a poem on “respite”; it’s an exemplar of how to turn an everyday activity into a delightful and forever-etched poem. Thank you so much. God bless!

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Shamik, You mention in your critique “the simplest of things in life.” I think that is one of the main purposes (not exclusively) of art in general, and poetry, in particular– don´t you think? To focus in on everyday experiences we tend to take for granted and look at them from a new angle, so as to lead the reader into an enhanced awareness and appreciation of the beauty, the wonder, and mystery that is so often found in common and everyday things, whether it be the leaves of autumn, fresh fallen snow, a cup of tea with a friend (as in one of your recent poems), or an afternoon nap! This is what make reading poetry a life-enriching experience. Thank you for your comments!

      Reply
  7. rohini

    The imagery is beautiful, the rhythm of the poem and cadences of the words are so compelling, one moment we are at rest and the next ‘defiant’ in ‘verticality’. That switch in mood is perfect.

    Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      Thanks, Rohini, for your feedback letting me know what you enjoyed about the poem.

      Reply
    • Martin Rizley

      “Blessing” is surely the best word to describe an afternoon nap– a blessing that is doubly enjoyed if you tend to be a bit of an insomniac at night like me!

      Reply
  9. Ron Cousineau

    Beautiful poem, Martin! I love your spirit I sense in this poem. I also am a pastor, presently not serving any church, but always ready, by God’s grace, to set up the plates and get them spinning in yet another setting. I’ve served as a revitalization pastor for the last half of my four decades of ministry. Again, thank you for the refreshment you brought to my soul through your work. Be blessed, my brother.

    Reply

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