I wake to the glow of soft morning light
and go to the table, where I sit down to write.
My pen invites my sleepy fingers to dance,
to search inside and out for a story to create.
I stare out the window and watch the sun
rise triumphantly like a liberated balloon.
Eyes on the sky, I almost don’t notice the balloon
from the party. It floats in the foyer, catching the light
penetrating through the glass. Brilliant sun
rays reach across the sky, blinding me as I write.
I blink my eyes, stretch my neck, rack my mind to create,
insecure as a wallflower in my clumsy writing dance.
I let myself become distracted, enchanted by the dance
before me. I observe the bobbing balloon,
and the way its bright colors create
rainbows, reflections born out of light.
I could sit here for hours, watching this scene right
in front of my eyes, choreographed by the sun.
I want to reach out and grab hold of the sun,
abandon my pen partner, try out a new dance.
The page before me is blank; I can’t write.
Let me join the company of the balloon
ballet, let me leap in the glimmering light.
Leave my body on the chair, my soul longs to create.
Will it ever pass—this push and pull to create?
Will I spend the rest of my days rising with the sun,
sitting at the window, languishing in its light?
Am I destined to be caught in a never-ending dance?
My brain feels like a deflated balloon.
I spend all my energy trying to think of what to write.
Still, there is beauty in this morning rite,
a humble offering of words, a creation
all of my own. I breathe in, and a balloon
of hope rises in me just like the sun
outside my window. Ideas dance
in my head. I search for delight.
And so I’ll write about the morning sun,
to remember how its rays once created colors that danced
with a balloon—my own aurora borealis of light.
Sestinas are composed of six stanzas, six lines each, where the same six end words are arranged differently in each stanza. It closes with a three-line envoi containing all six end words.
I remember loving this when you first wrote it, and I love getting to read it again! So beautiful!
LOVE the write, right, rite twist!