I was afraid sometimes
of a tree whose branches
overshadowed me;
through the filtering of the leaves
came the sunlight
casting praise and shame
on my uplifted face.
Now years later
my shadow lies across him
in his hospital bed
and I barely hear it said
in a whisper of his breath
as I lean down close
to those lips turning blue:
“I was afraid sometimes.”
William Cullen, Jr., is a veteran and was born in Petersburg, Virginia. He lived in Alabama, Georgia and West Germany before settling down in Brooklyn, NY, where he works at a social services non-profit. His poetry has appeared in Gulf Stream, Spillway and Word Riot.
Categories: Poetry
Tags: e-zine, ezine, hyperbole, In a Mirror Dimly, Jr., longing, melancholy, melancholy hyperbole, new, poem, poet, poetry, poets, submit, William Cullen, writing
Melancholy Hyperbole 
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