Vanishing

Vanishing

“One gives way to one’s greatest fear

only after the deepest bond

has exhausted its last resistance.”

The moon gives way along a hidden seam:

A white vessel split upon the dark,

its flawless halves made sacred

only after the fracture.

Or the moon looks to me

like a plate broken into bright pieces,

only to become more beautiful

for having been held too dearly.

I have trusted myself to set sail

upon the black tide beneath constellations,

where a star keeps its bright mouth closed

to swallow an oath no one can witness.

No compass is cradled in my hand:

To watch how the water bends

toward an unseen harbor,

and to know I surrender

to its quiet certainty.

Even the darkness

knows where to deliver me.

Then you found another stone

to cast into a water already trembling.

My sadness arrives as a stranger

the stranger wearing your shadow—

the patient nightmare

that has always followed you,

feeding upon every sliver of light in you,

until only its own thirst and hunger remain.

And when it finally learns your name,

it will answer only to you.

You. Yourself,

Vanishing—

Marni Fraser

0630.2026

8:49am

Image by Daniel Torobekov | A mesmerizing starry night sky reflecting beautifully over the ocean and rock formations of Hawaii, USA.