From the roots began
The quest to thrive
Long fingers reached down
searching in vein for a place to drink
But all was dry, no water could be found
Wilted, defeated, dying...
In her final hours she cried out!
Her face beaming red in the heated blood of passion
Her shout so loud the whole world stopped,
Becoming utterly still...
Slowly, a leaf fell from its branch and fluttered to the ground.
One by one the tears began to fall
And the oceans rose
And the streams rose
And everything that was living drank from the waters
And returned to the depleted Earth
Nourishing her soils to receive
The seeds of tomorrow's children
The roots of my ground,
the blood of my veins.
15 comments:
Cat, lovely and powerful photo and your words so powerful and visual as well. I like the power of black coming through so strong and vibrant. Thanks for the beauty you've provided this day.
I visited your mom and aunt yesterday a.m. We're having withdrawal symptoms but incredibly happy though I still find it hard to believe.
enjoy this day....
The picture is incredible! I love autumn poems, especially ones that create an explicit metaphor like yours. Well done.
When I looked at the picture it took my breath away! I have only had this strong of a response to a tree once before which was a marvelous tree at Balboa Park in San Diego.
I feel so "Fallish" as my energy drops to the earth and I crave rain and solitude. I must confess I do not miss nor yearn for the new surge of energy in the Spring. For now Fall is exactly right.
Bright reflective photo. Penetrating poem. BEAUTIFUL! Thank you.
mom's friend, thank you for kind words, I really like hearing how it affected you. Also, thank you so much for the phrase that provided inspiration in the last poem by the way, from the comment you left last week.
Scott ennis, Thank you, and yes, seasons provide incredible fodder for metaphor, I love to see where it will take me. I'm glad you left a comment so I could discover your incredible sonnet writing ability.
RS, I know what you mean, and with all the energy and passion going into this election, now that we have taken a collective sigh, turning inward sounds like a lovely dream. We could all use a few weeks visiting our inner spa.
Judith, Grazie bella.
I am impressed by this picture. Very apt. As for the words, I have mixed feelings... they sound unsettling, particularly in the first stanza.
thank you for sharing
A.
AC, Thank you. The words are unsettling! I'm glad you noticed! ;-) My poems are often in lieu of rants. I try to condense my feelings into something small and change it into something metaphorical. I think that helps me handle the pain. However, once it's a poem, how it affects others is, as I heard some other poet say once but can not credit them, none of my business. However it is very interesting to me to know such things.
We often look for times of settling, but it is often in unsettling times that we experience our greatest growth and joys. Embrace the moment.
cat, that line between the verses is a perfect breath-catching moment!
i like that 'dig a little deeper, keep the faith in spite of great odds' quality this speaks of.
Judith, well stated!
Qualcosa di bello, thank you, I really appreciate knowing how you were affected. And yes, they say those who have optimism live longer lives. I seem to have a never ending dose (when I get over my pessimistic rantings). I hope that means I'll live until I'm at least 100!
I think the chant-like cadence was the best complement to the theme. In a way, it allowed the poem to become more primal because it stimulated the sounds and turned it into a beat inside the head. I think that was the most powerful aspect of this piece.
Great one, Cat. :)
Blue Rogue, Thanks for visiting! I became enamored with that chanty rhythmic kind of prose when I used to listen to radio programs by Joe Frank back in the early 90's. Come back again! I love your poetry.
This is Autumn personified wonderfully. I always get hyper-reflective in the Fall as we witness the end of so many living things. Living where I do in Canada, there is such a distinctive nature to each of the four seasons. We truly do mourn as at a funeral come Fall, as we await winter's icy wrath. So too do we feel the hope surrounding birth when the first buds appear on the trees and bushes and the birds make their return back from the South. The metaphor for life is so strongly demonstrated through this image. Nicely written.
Minister, I love your screen name! I was just reading some of your comments over at the Aine/Jason connection. So glad for your visit and thank for your great comments! I'll be at your place next. I spent some time in Edmonton one winter and it WAS COLD. Being from California, I've never really had seasons so this first year in North Carolina, getting to feel it day by day, is really spectacular. I still have more amazing photos of the fall around here, but it is now so winterlike with the bare trees and the chill that it just feel plain wrong to post those old fall photos now! They're so yesterday. :-)
The screen name comes from way back in my college radio days where I was Real-E: Minister of the Masochistic Truth and Cosmic King of Social Demolition. The notion of "masochistic" is kind of a play on the notion that the truth hurts sometimes. Also, because I tend to be a fairly intense individual in most of my undertakings, often pushing/punishing myself too far. I guess my fear in life is not to fit in all the living that I want to do. I started doing Yoga and meditation about 10 years ago, and that's helped me become a wee bit more moderate...
Edmonton does get a wee bit cold, though it's been a record breaking warm Fall thusfar (we are hitting a high of +6C today, whereas we were around -25C this time last year. I'm sure well have our share of frigid weather yet to come. We had a nasty snap last January where we hit a low of -58C... thinking of that one does not know whether to cringe or shiver!
Anyway, love your stuff - keep on writing!
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