Elk Ridge

[Justsomedude]

The stillness of a summer night at Elk Ridge;

where fear fled my every thought -

pushed away by the peace of poor living

much like the damp dark being pushed away

by that rigged up porchlight;

where ghost stories would resonate in my mind like

the cry of coyotes echoing somewhere in the midst

of those majestic mountains;

where stars polka-dotted the purple sky

and reflected from my awe-struck eyes.

Behind the starry reflection - hope, purity, and potential.

But behind the stars - who knows?

Perhaps the substance of my hope,

the origin of youthful purity,

and the proof of hidden potential.

But now, my thoughts are far from Elk Ridge

or the stillness that seemed so permanent;

far from fire flies and purple skies.

I must've lost something, somewhere along the way.

What a fearsome foe, that nagging doubt;

crippling minds that render any at all to it's cunning call.

J.A. Perkins

[JAYnLA]

If you are the author, bravo. If you are just sharing it, thank you - it's really quite beautiful.

[Justsomedude in reply to JAYnLA]

Oh, I wouldn't share and not give credit to the author. That's home sweet home. I no longer live at Elk Ridge, but still have a lot of memories out there. Thanks for reading it. Hope it puts you in a good place.

[Justsomedude in reply to JAYnLA]

I just realized that we don't use names here. I'm sorry. You don't have a clue who JA Perkins is, lol. That's me, though.

[JAYnLA in reply to Justsomedude]

Some people do use their names - it's a personal choice.

[mrmonk]

Some killer lines and imagery here, dude. Reflective poems are fascinating to me because they show the mind in action.

Is this a newer piece? Are you still posting over at Hello Poetry?

[Justsomedude in reply to mrmonk]

Yeah. I deleted my account on Hello Poetry a while back, but I'm back on now. And thanks.These kinds of poems are my favorite to write or read. Retrospect, wonderment, nature- I tried to throw all that stuff in there. It puts me in a good place mentally which is rare, but cherished.

[Justsomedude in reply to mrmonk]

And no, it's not really new. I wrote it a couple years ago. I wanted to make this and excerpt for a novel, but wasn't too sure how to go about that so I just made a poem out if it.