Description: i lied. this is my last one. i'll end on a happier note, eh? ok.
take it easy
just a thought or three -------------------------------------------
i say
all this earth
could give me
dust showers
and erupting clouds
reminding me
of vesuvius
and pompeii
in history books
i've read
churning over
why
tragedies happen
only
to the seemingly
eternal
who grace pages
and paintings
and the sound
of concertos
raised to god
and the conductor
furiously
scribbling
at notes
needing
releasereleaserelease
to catch fire
and tell the stars
all is wild and good
and pure
and scraping
for affection
well blow me down, it's fire
and while I was thinking of how my nephews
go to the pews every week to remember God
I remember that in every moment we create
and say thank you
from the void comes a fire
an epiphany that sounds
much like this
this is almost minimalist for you and I like it
all the feathers and fluff have been burned away
I see your soul and it's eons old and yet
right here in the moment
i quite enjoyed your previous anarchist's blow out (!)
i think it does us all good once in a while to
spit blood and bile and let
it all out,
but i am glad that you decided to return here
to this place where you have so many
friends
to end on a happier note.
what a difference a few days cogitation
and a good night's sleep make...
your words here are optimistic and
full of hope.
the final piece of writing is lovely.
i have sat in your writer's cafe, avidly reading
with a mug of black coffee in my hand, and i see you have not
lost your edge. far from it.
to say that
you are somewhat of an enigma would be
an understatement but right now
you do seem to be marking one of life's great milestones.
not exactly
'when impetuous youth and prudence meet '.. .. but
your comet is blazing its trails across the universe right now
and at some point soon,
i feel there will be a supernovae explosion
..so i guess we all need to hold on,
take a deep breath
and tighten our kuiper belts!
I really enjoyed this.
I especially like the last few llines:
furiously
scribbling
at notes
needing
releasereleaserelease
to catch fire
and tell the stars
all is wild and good
and pure
and scraping
for affection
like you knew
It is just such a powerful ending!
Something about it reminds me of Mary Oliver. Have you ever read her poem Wild Geese?
Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
She is one of my favorite poets and I think this is my favorite poem of hers. Anyway, thanks for the great read. Also, thanks for the welcome to Elite Skills.
There was a band from the 90s called The Dismemberment Plan. They pioneered a sort of noisy, semi-dancy rock that ended up perverted and spewed out ten years later by crap emo bands which I will not name cause really they (and their producers) misssed the whole point.
I could go on, but I'll spare you.
Anyway, the last song on their last album is called Ellen and Ben (excellent song) sums up their subject matter perfectly with a sort of ease and finality, like they knew this was their last go and they just got straight to the point and that this has written all through it.
So yeah. Might not seem like much, but the band and that song in particular mean a lot to me, not just as a standalone thing but for when it came and in relation to the rest of their output.
And this; ditto.
It's got everything here without trying to be a summation. Creation, great imagery (eruptions!) and all the metaphorical writings and why
tragedies happen
only
to the seemingly
eternal?
are they eternal for the tragedies or is tragedy something that only happens to these almost legendary nonexisters. how we're immortal through art. how we do it for exactly that reason sometimes. and hell, I love how the beginning and end are.... like in a haze or something where the cloud of words evoke a feeling ... well i'm talking about the beginning, the end is very precise and to-the-point but nicely ambiguoous and applicable worldwide. gah! you know, maybe you should leave more often if you're gonna write things like this.
Submission Name: just a thought or three
