Dark clouds gather on the horizon of the mind;
Moody premonitions infiltrate our thoughts in kind.
They puff and they blow; they bring darkness in tow.
Fear and anxiety and doubt, our good will to mow.
To make matters worse, grey skies cover the eyes,
Filtering everything we see with imaginings unwise,
Taking us by the hand like a mother with her child,
Leading us into the dark without a light to keep us quiet.
My, how life itself becomes a force that is sudden and wild,
Drawing upon the images of nature to explain its moody style.
Sunny skies hover within our heads with infinite blue;
The colors of the rainbow fill our hearts with abundant hue;
Surging seas can affect us with rhythms of stormy waves;
Daffodils across the meadow induce feelings that we save;
The clarity of day chases away the brooding mystery of night;
The stars in the ebony darkness make up a wondrous sight.
Mystery abounds on the earth for which there is no accounting;
We fall down some inner well with darkness of our own making.
When someone or something touches our hearts and lifts us up,
We are rising and floating, our minds once again like a cup,
Ready to be filled with the nectar that sweet life has to offer,
Ready to gather together and hoard our good will in a coffer.
Whether it be a nod, a smile, an extended hand, or just the sky,
Benediction surrounds us without ever clearly answering why.
It's easy to bestow accolades on such clarity and essence, of what it's mostly about, of what it begs we feel and think about. The take away for me, however, its brilliant illumination, both textual and sub-textually, notwithstanding, is the sadness felt that so much of humanity never ponders the meaning of such perfection of heart and mind. Sad indeed.
you see how fast everything is changing within the frame of one single poem, . . what to say about the reality you have so beautifully described. Yes, the obscurity makes it be so. Cheers, alex
Your poem reflects how natural occurrences affect the mind. We are of this earth and our genes have been conditioned through tens of thousands of years to pick up subtle nuances in our environment that signal goodness, sorrow, or danger. When we become overwhelmed with these feelings we can always find parallels in the weather and the natural world around us creating great metaphors for how we feel. Your portrait often reflects these themes.
I like "mystery abounds on the earth ...no accounting" idea. The earth is like a huge science project and even though the "how" of many things (thus laws of science we know) in life have been answered by science, the last line you wrote still prevails, the big "answering why". Science claims to have begun to understand "how" the universe for instance started, but never deals with the "answering why". Of this they have "no accounting". I love that phrase.
Dan
"We are rising and floating, our minds once again like a cup,.............." This fills the reader with hope of the grey skies subsiding and our cups being filled with sweetness. Beautifully penned!
Okay. I have read many poems of your, John, but this one, in my opinion tops them all. As you have said to me, I say to you, you just keep getter better and better with your very artful way of writing. Thank you, poet!
A beautiful way of saying how the nuances of nature are metaphors for our own mood swings. And, most poignantly, when we "fall down some inner well of darkness of our own making" someone touches our heart in such a way that our spirit is uplifted.
These song lyrics and art are tales, tides and twinkling lights - tunes telling stories of warmth and sun, city and sand, paths that lead, and the coins we can keep in the Karma Bank. Spirit's been bypassed for sorrow, dreaming of a better tomorrow .
These song lyrics and art are tales, tides and twinkling lights - tunes telling stories of warmth and sun, city and sand, paths that lead, and the coins we can keep in the Karma Bank. Spirit's been bypassed for sorrow, dreaming of a better tomorrow .
Note: Since my husband's cancer surgery 4/25/05, this book content has been integrated into the public speaking content for audiences interested in a sassy approach to personal and/or community awareness events. Another chapbook on intimate love poet
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thought provoking read
Dan
Love ya!
Jane
Your wisdom shines through the verses.