Gratitude 5 : Spring Forward, Fall Back

Dedicated to people who risk their own well-being to protect that of others. Pretty self-explanatory, I guess.

=================================

Spring Forward, Fall Back

You dig your heels into the horizon

And latch on to the setting sun.

Your fingers ache, your muscles tear

As the wintry ground shirks away in fear

From the last rays of lively warmth

That keep our spirits awake;

The chill numbs body, the gloom lulls mind

In the blinding mist the innocents find

False dreams of comfort they can't resist.

But up on the rooftops you persist,

To live your one and only dream

Of keeping their dreams alive:

On the tips of your hurting toes you stand

And gather in your calloused hand

The lights of a million fiery stars --

And keep them, safe, beneath your scars --

Not once flinching from the heat,

Not caring if it burns.

Under your skin they crackle and boil

And grow, as, hours on end, you toil;

And you smile, for every second of pain

Translates to the innocents' gain

(When they wake, come summertime)

Of an hour of daylight.

=================================

If you don't get the poem, it is probably because you don't know that 'Spring Forward, Fall Back' is a term associated with DST, which is not followed in all countries -- including my own, actually.

I also tip my hat to all the great English Literature textbook poets who have ingrained in me the idea of comparing war to winter and peace to summer -- notably James Kirkup.