Friday, September 23, 2016

A DISSERTATION ON RIVERS


Elaho River
Jon Merk photo
                                         


The river of love can 
knock you to your knees,
when that tall dark stranger's heart
develops teeth that would
consume your essence, 
if you allowed it-
a napalm strike that levels 
the landscape of the heart,
scorched earth devastation
in its wake,
from which all of your foliage
must begin to grow anew.


This is when you will discover that love
- real love, not napalm-love -
is the river, the ocean, and the droplet, 
one drop an ecstasy on the tongue
after times of great thirst.


After passing that class,
you enter Being 101,
discovering your true identity: 
minute, one solitary drop in the turbulent sea,
and vast, part of the ebbing and flowing,
of the largeness
of the ocean itself.


Fall in love with the way
the moon splashes stardust
on the surface of the river,
irradiates the pond with an 
unearthly radiance,
lights a silver pathway across the lake.
Beyond, the dark and lumpy 
mountaintops huddle
like the hunched shoulders 
of an indolent giant,
the moon a bauble for him to bat 
from side to side.


Let the evening breeze whisper 
endearments in your ear,
translated by the silvery timpani 
of the leaves, falling 
from their accustomed branches
without attachment, without regret, 
free of fear.


Learn to fall like that,
in love with the whole world,
and you will never
be alone again.
Allow your heart
this most glorious
pilgrimage.

One from 2013, my friends. Shared with the Poetry Pantry. See you There! 


20 comments:

  1. "Beyond, the dark and lumpy
    mountaintops huddle
    like the hunched shoulders
    of an indolent giant,
    the moon a bauble for him to bat
    from side to side."
    Wow! The images in your poem will have all of us choosing nature over mortal love.

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  2. Allow your heart
    this most glorious
    pilgrimage.

    Yes, Sherry let the heart roam and it is bound to get in touch with those forgotten for some time. It has a way of acceding to conscience plaguing the mind

    Hank

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  3. You have touched it too.
    For me it was the Redwood country

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  4. Ah, falling in love with the whole world -- so much to love and so deeply. A wise and wonderful poem, Sherry

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  5. Wow! A fitting tribute to National Metaphor Week! Love the idea of a stranger's heart developing teeth!

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  6. So much here..the giant with the bat and the detachment of the leaves as they fall... all part of the river of love!!!

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  7. Superb Sherry - Made me ponder the saying falling in love as well as all ebbs and flows of life's lessons ..and Being 101 made me smile xo

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  8. What glorious language in this poem Sherry that was beautiful to read out loud making one pray for a better understanding of our world before it is too late.

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  9. Fall in love with the way
    the moon splashes stardust
    on the surface of the river,
    irradiates the pond with an
    unearthly radiance

    Gorgeousness overload!! 💖

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  10. Amen, love so consuming, must be amazing
    Wishing you a happy Sunday Sherry

    much love...

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  11. I needed that. I want to: Fall in love with the way
    the moon splashes stardust
    on the surface of the river,
    And go down into the dark depths only once I am buoyed up or shored up enough.

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  12. I love everything about this poem. The river of love will surely bring one to their knees if they truly feel its power.

    Fall in love with the way
    the moon splashes stardust
    on the surface of the river,

    just beautiful...

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  13. Certainly one of your best!!! I love it.

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  14. I do love the first stanza... how you use gritty language of wars to recreate something beautiful... maybe that's what we all need to do... build beauty and listen to the woods to never be alone... and I agree with annell, one of your best ever.

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  15. I love the way this sounds read aloud:
    "when that tall dark stranger's heart
    develops teeth"

    This is another favorite:
    "After passing that class,
    you enter Being 101"

    Also these:
    "Fall in love with the way
    the moon splashes"

    "irradiates the pond with an
    unearthly radiance,
    lights a silver pathway across the lake"

    "the moon a bauble for him to bat
    from side to side"

    "translated by the silvery timpani
    of the leaves, falling
    from their accustomed branches
    without attachment, without regret"

    "Allow your heart
    this most glorious
    pilgrimage."

    Yeah, so ... the whole poem. ;)

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  16. This is a Call to fall in love with the beauty that surrounds us, to experience its essence and to be changed by it.

    Elizabeth

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  17. So much here. The images are epic - beautifully drawn metaphors that are stunning and emotive. The last stanza is a stirring triumph. Wonderful words!

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  18. So beautiful and the way we should love, what a lovely way.....one of my fav poems now:)

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  19. Thank you for the invitation to a glorious pilgrimage!

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