take to knee, and have that good cry.
The wind’s stopped ... caring
how the twilight comes,
if it comes … it can come
with pigtails and a little-girl skip
or baldness and an old man’s stride.
Our bruise of sky has turned from
a heartless purple-black
to a gassy planet’s sickly yellow.
The leaves are out
again, exhaling greens.
Against their backdrop
who can be afraid … of sparks to fire,
for we future fallen?
8 comments:
I love twilight coming with pigtails and a little-girl skip
or baldness and an old man's stride. This is magnificent, Francis. A plethora of apocalyptic poems are cropping up. This is one of the finest. I hope we wake up collectively and show earth we care, but cynicism has deep roots, and promotes inaction.
~Brenda
Very descriptive and visual. Nice use of the words.
Some unique images in this poem. I would have liked to read some process notes to know more about your theme and the thoughts behind the poem, but even without them, it's an excellent piece.
"Our bruise of sky has turned from
a heartless purple-black
to a gassy planet’s sickly yellow."
Francis, that is excellent in its descriptiveness. Apocalyptic yes, your imagery is dead on.
Pamela
@Brenda It's interesting the words could conjure similar themes, maybe because of the original's "black"?
@Henry Thanks!
@Traci I usually don't talk to much about process because I don't always understand my own, and I like to leave some degree of ambiguity for the reader to wrestle with. In many ways it's impressionistic... whatever images the words conjure for me.
@Pamela Especially with the tornadoes that have been ravaging the Midwest US, it's hard not to have a few apocalyptic thoughts these days.
Wow, I'm stunned. I love it, from the title to the end - "for we future fallen" - that just sends you back to read it again. I love that second stanza, the way you interpret wind and twilight.
Richard
Just found this - a bit late. It's lovely. I had to read it several times to get the flow, but each time, something new hit me.
@Richard Thanks... sometimes certain images just pop into my head when I go through the list of words, and these were very evocative words.
@Viv I was running late myself this week (pesky work and life intruding). I like writing poems that have shifty meanings, so I'm glad to hear you comment about that.
Post a Comment