Saturday, March 28, 2015

A Melancholy Voyage



The beginning of things is the most entrancing time,
the thrall of captivating newness, the heady unknown,
which flies us across the heavens, 
until we wake, a year later,
to the reality of being two people, 
who now have to make our way forward, in tandem.
I made this journey more than once, until I grew weary,
my heart  battered and blue from the passage,
cerulean desert, with thorns, and a ripple of bleeding.
We kindred souls on the voyage 
from hope to disillusion
may mock, but the melody of our souls is melancholy,
for all that we once dreamed, that did not come to be.

The ending of things is a revisiting,
a summing up, a coming to terms.
It is fraught with emotion, regret, acceptance
and, finally, surrender: it was what it was.
Once we were spring, and hopeful,
and now we are autumn, our leaves crinkled.
We are slowly becoming one with the earth,
resignation our address, as the great Wheel 
turns and churns us along.
We cartwheel across the landscape of memory -
hand - foot - arm - leg  landing us
in one shimmering scene after another
till we can take it no longer -  
the inexorably gradual fading of our lives
against the radiance of all that we once  hoped 
they might be.
And I wish it had all been so different, while I embrace
the grand design, the inevitability, the rightness
of all that it was.

My attempt at a guided poem, as outlined at Metaphors and Smiles.  I thought it might help jog some writing loose, and, as always, am surprised where it took me. I will link this to the Poetry Pantry this week, and look forward to seeing you all there!

37 comments:

  1. Ah, you have waxed philosophical in this poem, Sherry. Yes, the beginning of things can be entrancing....but I think there are many points along the way that can be exhilarating too. Sad that sometimes one does become battered in the journey though & that lives fade against the radiance of what one hoped would be. We can be reflective about what wasn't, but we all have to find a way to live with what is today...

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  2. This guided poem form has provided the inspiration to shake loose some very pensive thoughts about the passing seasons and growing older - the things we retain and those we lose along the way.

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  3. Sherry, you have used your similes and metaphors in a way that does not feel in the least contrived. I enjoyed the reflective tone of your poem.

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  4. I must check out that link on guided poem ~ I specially love this part:

    The ending of things is a revisiting,
    a summing up, a coming to terms.

    So well done Sherry ~

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  5. I like this philosophy of acceptance and surrender in this journey.. ..."while I embrace / the grand design, the inevitability, the rightness / of all that it was."...how true and insightful is this!!!

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  6. I too live a conundrum of wishing I was the young me again and yet so glad that person has grown to be someone else who is so different...and may yet change again.

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  7. there's beauty in accepting what was.. and that melancholy seems to follow us so easily.

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  8. Sherry this is absolute genius! Love the use of metaphors and similes in your poem! It got me so absorbed that I completely forgot my surroundings for a good few seconds!! ;)
    xoxo

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  9. Ahh a "blue" poem in all the shimmering shades that blue can conjure . Bravo!

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  10. I can certainly relate to the splitting of self...i think as we journey on we become fully ourselves again...i hope anyway!

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  11. a little deep for you today... do like thinking through the seasons.

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  12. Meditative thinking leads us down many paths..I have done some reflective thinking myself this week to the sound of my drum and I am always surprised where it takes me..a road to new self discovery. I could hear your thoughts as you work through the maze of understanding.

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  13. "The ending of things is a revisiting, / a summing up, a coming to terms. / It is fraught with emotion, regret, acceptance / and, finally, surrender: it was what it was. / Once we were spring, and hopeful, / and now we are autumn, our leaves crinkled. / We are slowly becoming one with the earth.."

    ---I'm both so sad & excited to think about these words, Sherry. You are just a good teacher, thank you! This is one of my very favorite of yours to date.

    - ksm

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  14. And I wish it had all been so different, while I embrace the grand design, the inevitability, the rightness of all that it was.

    Great ending Sherry! It gives a finality by a balancing of the earlier feelings of being too free!

    Hank

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  15. great one and sometimes we need to sit and just contemplate

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  16. Sherri, this is so different yet uniquely you.. the melancholy and images you paint is like that path we have walked long past that point were we should have taken a left turn.. the road not taken, and we missed the fork... wonderful

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  17. Wow. This certainly did jolt you to go deeply into your soul, to examine your life, your choices and desires. You're not simply recounting your history, but revealing the trajectory of your inner self, your emotions and the melancholy song that traverses who you are now. I think this is so beautiful, so honest. Your muse is not asleep at all, you're just not seeing it.

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  18. I love the honesty the imagery and the thread that is uniquely yours that flows through this poem. Glad you could let go and let the exercise guide you.

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  19. I do love this. As I do a good transition:)

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  20. ''And I wish it had all been so different, while I embrace
    the grand design, the inevitability, the rightness
    of all that it was.''

    Sherry, a poignant and powerful poem. So honest in its acceptance of the circle of life, realizations that come through a life of action, observation, and thinking. You have so eloquently summed up the journey, up to now. I have come to understand and appreciate the present as the most vital time of my life, for it is our truth, today.

    And being today, this is a favourite of mine, but I know it will also be so, tomorrow.:))

    Poppy

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  22. I love what you shook loose Sherry. it speaks to aging and relationships...the new, the reality and the journey that sometimes ends in sadness and not as we expected.

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  23. Sherry it's true, all true....and maybe that is the way it was supposed to be. Pic TC!

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  24. I enjoyed reading your poem, thanks for sharing :)

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  25. Pensive mood, analytic and accepting

    Thanks for stopping over to read my sharing Sherry

    Much love...

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  26. Yes... I love the way you write, Sherry. This one seems to come from a lifetime of learning, as so many of your pieces do.

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  27. I forgot to mention what a great picture this is. Your bliss - to relax near the water.

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  28. I feel sad, or maybe sad is not the right term. The philosophy of life you have included in this poem speaks to me a lot. Made me remember the "firsts" I did, you have described that feelings perfectly. As for endings, not thinking much of it lately... Have a nice week Sherry :)

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  29. Hey, Sherry! I had written a great comment which is nt here so I must not have hit the publish button. Now let me say just this ; You name the journey rightly, both its beginings and ends--though we are not there yet.

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  30. So beautifully expressed Sherry, quite a journey these bodies/souls travel.

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  31. I feel like aging allows us to know ourselves better. Our dreams keep us moving forward. And we must remain grateful and remember that the journey is the treasure. I really LOVE this, Sherry. You have a beautiful glowing soul :)

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  32. Sherry,

    We all have those moments of reviewing, looking back and taking stock of where we are; what might have been different, or better. A philosophical consideration, while seeing the joys, the troubles and yet, being pleased with what did pass us en route...So much more to squeeze into our days Sherry. Knowing you, I think you have a few adventures to still attend to!!
    Happy New Week of fun times,
    Eileen x

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  33. "Hang on Sloopy hang on!" Wonderful expression of despair. But as we know nothing is permanent. We have to put on our big boy/girl pants and rise with the glorious resurrection of a new day. :-)
    ZQ

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  34. Every day is new yet we are often in the past. That is also what it is.

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  35. i read this twice...love the feel of things coming full circle. the analysis of a beginning, an explanation of an end. very well done, friend!

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  36. looking back is a practice fraught with pitfalls, don't you think? ~

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