By Jessica Spoto 

The last poem for this year’s Poetic License comes to The Beacon from Rebecca Dow. Last week Rebecca read her piece to me while we shared a few moments together in a somewhat subdued Oceanview Dining Hall. We all suffer from spacing out, consciously avoiding, delaying the inevitable, deferring, postponing, dallying, taking the obligatory raincheck, even maybe dragging your feet, while always knowing…

I Ought to Stop 

Procrastinating

By Rebecca Dow

Cluttered mind,

Sleepless,

A cup of coffee

Sours my mouth

Through the hours.

A mountain of

responsibilities

Crumble in the wake of a

Rectangular projection,

Illuminated on my black,

Wadded bedsheets.

Who will build it back up?

Stone by stone, my focus

Looks to the sky.

When the clouds fall,

Kissing the grass

and soil,

Then I shall see with

Clarity.

Sleepless;

By rising higher

It becomes harder to view

a Cloudless summit.

My hope, nonetheless,

Is to shed my skin

And emerge a wisp

Of crisp, clear air.

Above my mountain

There exists an

Unattainable mind –

Where stones are merely

Pleasant smells,

And dreams lay waste

To solid things.

For now, my feet

expect the Ground.

So, I’ll build with

gritted teeth,

Climbing as my

breath grows

Cooler;

Until stones and haze,

And coffee staved

Rest

Collect like dew in the

Valley,

Below me.