Open Road

yesterday the world closed its doors for a moment

nowhere was open

we took solace in the charm of home

found peace where we could

carving time out to watch the stars beneath blankets

listening to the rhythm and rhyme of time ticking by

together, you and I, alone

always in the same spot

night after night

.

with the slow passing of time

my microcosm quietly slipped into dusk

leaving me feeling lost amid the dead of isolation

.

life, once glorious,

no longer felt like a blank canvas

.

I longed for uncharted water

for navigating without a compass

marking new territories on the map

slicing through the wild world

catching waves, guided by

the unknown hue that marks the thrill of being alive,

knowing that

whatever lies ahead

is as glorious as the tranquil sea,

a sight of pure quietude,

the last great free expanse

heralding the best days are yet to come

.

this morning

we hopped on our bikes

heading toward destinations unknown

.

we embrace

the days ahead, knowing

that minuscule moment,

the pandemic,

no longer clouds our eyes

.

time is escaping us

and yes,

our days will end

but we know now,

having lived through that reckoning of sorts,

that while night

one day will leave us in her wake,

we have tools to handle whatever comes,

painful though it may be, we understand and accept

that gripping solitude

once again will claim us in our final hour

on this beautiful earth

.

but until then

the steadfast sun will light a new horizon

and I am yours, hand in hand,

free and alive to the very core of my being,

traveling with you wherever the open road takes us

__________

Copyright © 05/23/2024 by Christy Munson. All rights reserved.

__________

Author's Notes: Written for Randy Baker's unofficial challenge, Prompted #5. for June 2024. Requirements stipulate a minimum of 13 words across 12 lines.

Per the prompt's requirement to capture all the words used, here are the words I used in alphabetical order (I think I used them all except whisps): Ahead, Beneath, Canvas, Carving, Catching, Charm, Clouds, Compass, Days, Dead, Destinations, Dusk, Embrace, End, Escaping, Expanse, Free, Glides, Glorious, Guided, Heralding, Home, Horizon, Hue, Isolation, Leaving, Light, Marking, Marks, Microcosm, Minuscule, Moment, Navigating, Night , Nowhere, Open, Passing, Peace, Quietly, Quietude, Reckoning, Rhyme, Sea, Sight, Slicing, Solace, Spot, Stars, Steadfast, Sun, Tranquil, Time, Tools, Uncharted, Unknown, Wake, Water, Waves, Wild, World, Yesterday

61 prompt words across 51 lines.