SOLACE
“Grace is solace on horseback”,
This opening line to a poem by
A friend of a friend with whom
I dearly want to be a friend.
Grace and Solace,
Words which are familiar,
But I often look up words to
ingest them so they nourish me.
These words are simple and
Both have a profound effect,
Grace makes me dream and smile,
Solace pulls a yearning, a sob.
The words in print are benign,
Then I read about them and
My stage voice dramatizes,
Experiments.
I have seen grace,
Stood next to it,
Emulated a posture, an
Attitude.
Solace on the other hand is
Beyond reach… forever,
Never felt,
Neither tasted nor sniffed.
Well, maybe once,
When a loved one held my head to
Her breast,
Cradled my broken soul.
The soul cannot survive without Solace,
Enslaved to seek,
Almost finds and wails,
Soul and Solace passing at night on a stormy sea.
Come to me, Solace,
I’m tired of running away
From fears and
Life’s enervating dead-ends.
Come to me, oh Solace!
Carry me over this road
Of broken dreams and hostility,
Fill my lonely days.
Touch my anguished self,
Soothe my lined and furrowed brow,
Reach for my aching body,
Hold me for a long, long time.
Comfort, reassurance, tenderness,
Roll my life in warm smiles,
Pull my hands to your body,
Lay me down in a green pasture.
Cover me with kisses,
Touch me all over,
Speak to me softly,
Love me, whisper that you love me over and over.
I’m tired of running away.
G. M. Goodwin
14 January 2019
Playing Fair and Being Kind 