5 A.M.

I arise, darkness lights my eyes

casting shadows, over my room

my world made stranger through familiar lens,

startled I turn.

I see, hear, feel you

I brush Icarian hairs from your face 

skipping a kiss off your nose,

I create ripples to disrupt the dark.

You, unaware and unconcerned,

play wife to your dreams

still in bed with that strange familiar darkness,

I concede my Persephone to thee.

I arise, darkness lights my eyes,

forced by tasks, I shatter the still.

I enter that darkness with regret

for leaving you creates true darkness.

Author's Note

Reference to Persephone, in Greek mythology had to spend half the time with Hades and the other half on earth with her family, thus half the time with me during the day half the time at night with dreams and sleep.

Reviews

[Beau Maysey]

Really nice poem! I love what's being presented here. Even without a steady meter or rhyme scheme, the context feels professional and well-chosen. I like the concept of conceding over your wife to the unconscious like Demeter and her relative had to give Persephone over to Hades for half the year. I like too how the poem leaves open a lot of interpretation without giving too much ambiguity. Is this set in Greece- The Icarian part plays along with the mythological reference, but I'm not sure if the wife is Greek. The repetition of the first line in the last stanza gives the poem a nice form to it.
One thing I'd consider is if giving the poem a more solid rhythm would open up more possibilities and allow for even better reading.