That Place / The Secluded Statue by Michael Keshigian

That Place 

He walks toward light

the moon creates,

a thin, white blade

which severs lake’s surface

otherwise at rest,

this tarnished beam,

beckoning his stare,

resembling a dagger,

piercing the heart of darkness

yet barely enough for clear sight,

though he anticipates what may appear,

somewhere out there,

beyond expectation

where outlines and shadows linger,

all unfamiliar to his gaze,

disguised by this peculiar illumination

that spreads its web over nothing

but what may arrive,

this place

to which he has come before,

now a mirror where the future sleeps,

where happiness or grief

lay dormant

and he dares not disturb.

The Secluded Statue

 

He sees it constantly,

filling the window pane,

posing stoically in the shade

or amid a swathe of sunshine,

the golden gleam

caressing its shoulders.

Storms polish its face

with torrents of rain

which thicken the mossy growth

upon its brow

and outstretched hand.

At night,

when its features are barely visible,

darkness stalks

with its entourage of the moon

and stars that form

a glittering crown of sorts.

At times, he notices figures at its feet,

nomads, discovering hidden paths

to it sanctuary,

sleep beneath its bleached eyes,

at once scorched by heat,

hollowed by wind,

punished by the unpredictable sky.

Abandoned, he sometimes talks to it

when he arrives or when he departs,

even when he wishes

it was never there.

It is unlikely he will never know

whom it represents

or why in fact it came to him,

though its tarnished presence beckons.

Michael Keshigian is the author of 14 poetry collections his latest, What To Do With Intangibles, published by Cyberwit.net. His most recent poems have appeared in Muddy River Review, Bluepepper, Smoky Quartz, San Pedro River Review, Tipton Poetry Journal. He has been published in numerous national and international journals and has appeared as feature writer in twenty publications with 7 Pushcart Prize and 2 Best Of The Net nominations.