Now, with the outflow of the tides,
it is said that the wrath of the tyrants
shall fade, the blood will dry like
mud upon our skin, and after the
itching of it has gone by in days
and hours, it shall fall from us
and we shall again be clean.
Now, with the outflow of the tides,
we may not regain those things we
have lost, but things will be found,
remnants of what was and what again
might be, and we shall again be
clean enough to walk these muddy
paths along the wide river or down
near the quiet ocean.
Now, with the outflow of the tides,
the ground can again reap that sadness
she spat up, and all those departed can
once again lie quiet in their graves,
and we shall again be clean like leaves
on the swamp trees are clean, not of
dust and mud and the grim mileage of
this world, but at least clean of this
damp and wicked burden, this
displacement, this unleavened wash
of ending.
6 comments:
I wish I was in a different mood at the moment.
I really would like to believe this one but cynicism is taking over.
Not that that has anything to do with the poem itself though ... wonderful as usual :)
Good, Firehawk. Seems very realistic, to me. Memory will fade. Cleansing will take place, but that past will allway be there, anyway. As usual, your poetry speaks for the moment, but also pinpoints universal truths.
What drthunder said!
You know I'm fond of the 'universality of man'... this is one of those that touches on a lot, but in the end reminds me we're all the same.
this
displacement, this unleavened wash
of ending.
Like a booming thunder rippling acoustically through my veins. ^_^ I especially loved the title of this one -- it grabbed me by the throat and held my attention till the very end.
(On another note, this reminds me of what has happened to New Orleans... :( Sigh.)
Mush,
I wish you were in a fantastic mood, good with the world, happy with yourself, and bathed in some sort of glow, like providence or whatever. That doesn't always happen, though, and we have to live the bad times like the good. It's difficult to keep up any level of optimism sometimes, but I think it's a worthy effort, even when there's only a slim chance that being positive is actually realistic.
Doc,
All things come clean. Some just have to be remade in total before that can happen.
Bill,
I think the universal aspects of existence are rich territories to be mined in terms of any sort of artistic venture. If there isn't some level of the universal experience, the overarching understandings we all come to, then I think the work suffers.
Soulless,
Glad to meet with your approval. Yes, the tragedy in New Orleans has been on everyone's mind, I guess. Consciously or unconsciously, it affects our view of things. I did have it in mind on this one, at least in some abstract fashion.
Thanks, everyone, for coming over and saying hello. Your comments mean a lot to me.
Ken,
I try to remain positive. I don't know if we as individuals get much in the way of new beginnings, but that doesn't mean that the system itself cannot come back around and find some healing.
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