Beneath the Sky, Reflections — Summary

Richard GrahnEftertænksom

It’s quiet here. The sky is cloudless. A moth flutters on the most subtle of breezes. There’s barely a ripple on the water. If reflections could speak, they would speak of silence, of harmony and of deep introspection. Locked in the aquatic mirror, a world of wonder stands fully exposed to this image of itself. There is no judgment, no criticism no need for redemption, just a picture of what is here and now, a picture sprinkled with lily pads and geese, a peaceful scene at perfect ease...

Bathed in echoes from the surface of the pond, each tree, each reed, each leaf lives a fleeting second life entranced in the liquid glass. The moth settles on a blade of marshgrass. A frog leaps into the air capturing the winged delicacy in her open mouth, swallowing it whole. Ripples of this death dance roll across the pond as the frog splashes back into the water. Silence and the surface of the mirror are shattered but the quiet sky remains. Stillness pauses then begins to heal. Another moth appears.

an old leaf falls into its own reflection... teacups fill with rain

Vis hele digtetSkjul digtet

Learn Poems app

Try the Learn Poems app

Everything from the website trainer, and more: new exercises, voice recording and sharing, reminders, quick review.

On a calm, cloudless day, the speaker watches a pond so still it resembles a mirror. Reflections seem to promise a world without judgment or urgency—just lily pads, geese, reeds, and trees resting at ease. The mood is meditative and hushed. Then the scene breaks sharply: a frog leaps, swallows a passing moth, and its splash shatters both the silence and the mirrored surface.

The speaker notices that the sky itself stays calm, and the stillness slowly returns; another moth appears. The closing image is small and delicate—an old leaf falling into its own reflection as rain fills teacups. Peace and sudden loss sit side by side, and quiet can mend itself after disturbance.

Læs også

Mere af Richard Grahn

Alle digte
TristRichard Grahn

Winter's Bitter Edge

The walking man studies the footprints he’s made in the freshly-fallen snow, footprints meandering back through time, back through time with his thoughts. There he finds a boy playing by a stream, happy as a boy can be. He
DrømmendeRichard Grahn

Inside the Gold Mine

The wooden stairs are steep, only about ten of them but steep. At the foot is Grandma’s canning pantry complete with carefully sealed Mason jars filled with applesauce, jams, jellies, watermelon pickles, and other preserves.
EftertænksomRichard Grahn

Traveler

I’ve taken the highway, that path that leads from here to there, from anywhere to everywhere it seems. Over mountains and valleys, across rivers and streams, I’ve hitched my way through cities and deserts, from ocean to