we are asleep inside ourselves.
we know you when the dawn sneaks in
on a sleeping forest and catches her
unawares; we struggle to find you in hard
pews, dead trees that no longer breathe
your breath. this is a dead
world, dark of the light of you.
we will not find you in the sleep of the dead.
will we wander in the desolation of this
cold place, apart from the world we once dreamed
of, where we loved you so easily? or will
we find your light in other places, in the last
rays of sunshine cradled in the earthen bowl of the hills,
the conch shells red as bloodstains, and lily
of the valley in June?
we will not find you in the sleep of the dead.
*Honorable mention: 2023 Valiant Scribe Poetry Competition.
Sarah-Kate Simons is a poet and writer from New Zealand, where she lives with her adorable but troublesome Fox Terrier. She is widely published online, in magazines and in anthologies, such as Write On, Re-Draft, the NZ Poetry Society Anthologies, Poetry NZ Yearbook and Charles Olsen’s La rebeldía del sol. She has also placed in several poetry and writing competitions and was the Haiku Junior judge for the 2022 NZPS International competition. She has a great affinity for moss, the theatre, and quoting mythology out of context.
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