Friday, November 9, 2018

A Thousand Years of Living



When we walk through speckled landscapes
where the shape-shifters dance,
we are walking in the footsteps of the ones
who came before.
There are signposts they have left us
all across the forest floor.
A thousand years of living -
we don't set our sail  by chance.

We are walking in the footsteps of the ones
who came before.
The Old Ones' songs I hear upon the breeze.
A thousand years of living -
we don't set our sail by chance.
I sing wolfsong to the mountains and
knock on midnight's door.

The Old Ones' songs I hear upon the breeze,
under my feet the brittle leaves of summer past.
I sing wolfsong to the mountains and
knock on midnight's door.
The night air whispers: here you are,
here you are at last!

Under my feet the brittle leaves of summer past.
There are signposts they have left us
all across the forest floor.
The night air whispers: here you are,
here you are at last!
Walking through a speckled landscape
where the shape-shifters dance.


One from the fall of 2013, kids, hauled out again to share with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United.

24 comments:

  1. Such lovely reminder of how Nature is always there, whispering her wonders... to any heart that listens "at last!"

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  2. This seems like a very peaceful vision, Sherry.

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  3. The repetition--villanelle-like--makes this poem the old ones' song! It flows for me and makes my thoughts dance to "here you are, here you are at last."

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  4. Love the sound of the brittle leaves and wolfsong whistle...

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  5. Interesting echos of what I wrote today but far more positive!

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  6. I love the misty photograph, Sherry, and the 'speckled landscapes / where the shape-shifters dance'. It's a strange and satisfying feeling to 'walk in the footsteps of the ones who came before'. I get that when I walk along our coast, where mammoth bones have been discovered.

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  7. I sure need poems like these for air and water. Two readings so resonant of this: Wendell Berry's collection "A Timbered Choir," poems written in the forest over 20 years; and Richard Powers' "The Overstory," where a tree canopy is the true protagonist. Thank you; I am so far from forests and yet my mornings are so deep with them.

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  8. This is incredibly breathtaking, Sherry!❤️ Especially love; "I sing wolfsong to the mountains and knock on midnight's door."❤️

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  9. I love the way you tie the end in with the beginning ... in fact I love everything about this poem.

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  10. What a beautiful, holy poem. I love the villain-nell type of spin you have put on this. The old ones...makes me think of tall ancient trees walking.

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  11. You belong in the woods. I like the idea of knocking on midnight's door and being welcomed.

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  12. I absolutely love this poem Sherry. I often see the signposts that the ancients have left. The crooked tree, a painted rock and carvings left behind so we might find our way.

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  13. A thousand years of living -
    we don't set our sail by chance

    Love the idea that things are not directionless. They are always planned well ahead in time.

    Hank

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  14. I so love the myths of shapeshifters though the ones I have read about has not been benign I wonder if nature contains mysteries we can learn to live in and love.

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  15. Luv all the sounds you have juxtaposed here and the repitition ads its esoteric music

    Thanks for dropping by my sumie Sunday today Sherry

    Much❤💛❤love

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  16. The way the verses shift and complement each other really draws me in. You've drawn me right into that forest and that path. Love this!

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  17. "Here you are at last!"

    Those words drew me into thinking about how the earth receives me - as a welcome friend or a mere predator.

    I love this poem Sherry. So glad you dug it up.

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  18. I adore this and how it sings a song we must heed....I have always been fascinated by shapeshifters.

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  19. A tender reminder of our connection to all aspects of nature. Beautiful work Sherry!

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  20. A wonderfully constructed piece set to a mesmeric cadence. Love the way that you pinned your words to 'a thousand years' song. The kind of poem that induces a float-and-linger while 'The night air whispers: here you are, here you are at last!' Beautiful writing, Sherry.

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  21. This is such a beautiful poem Sherry. I am always amazed that so few people care for the natural wild places on Earth. News of the current destruction of the Amazon rainforest is heart breaking.

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  22. You brought nature alive with your words...beautiful!

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  23. wow, this is just so beautiful!
    a reminder that Nature can be so powerful, yet so fragile.

    "A thousand years of living -
    we don't set our sail by chance."

    awesome line!

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