Dawn infuses the morning sky,
painting the calm sea
silver.
All is hushed.
A song trills
from a sleepy bird
waking
in the hedgerow.
painting the calm sea
silver.
All is hushed.
A song trills
from a sleepy bird
waking
in the hedgerow.
As far as I can see:
peacefulness and beauty.
In this same sea,
salmon are diseased,
whales are starving,
peacefulness and beauty.
In this same sea,
salmon are diseased,
whales are starving,
and choking on plastic.
Plankton is dying.
On land, animals with burned paws
limp across a charred landscape.
Dark energies swirl;
it is hard, these days,
to know what I know.
Plankton is dying.
On land, animals with burned paws
limp across a charred landscape.
Dark energies swirl;
it is hard, these days,
to know what I know.
I gaze at the horizon:
next stop Japan.
All is beauty;
all is perishing.
Everything is trying
so desperately
to live
while it is dying.
Half my heart is breaking;
half lifts in gratitude
for the beauty and the wonder
that is here, and shining.
next stop Japan.
All is beauty;
all is perishing.
Everything is trying
so desperately
to live
while it is dying.
Half my heart is breaking;
half lifts in gratitude
for the beauty and the wonder
that is here, and shining.
In my old age, I am learning
new lessons:
how to love and grieve
this planet that I adore
with the same broken heart,
how to hold onto fading hope
like birdsong
in the morning (mourning.)
new lessons:
how to love and grieve
this planet that I adore
with the same broken heart,
how to hold onto fading hope
like birdsong
in the morning (mourning.)
Oh, this morning mourning is heartfelt — the peacefulness felt in the first stanza leads to a kind of awakening with the realization of all that is ravaging this planet. It hurts to read about it, to see it, to acknowledge it. And we are grieving with you, as we read your words.
ReplyDelete"it is hard, these days,
ReplyDeleteto know what I know"
To know is to always dip beneath the surface of things. To hold onto the paradox is, I believe, age's wisdom: a blessing and a curse. You capture the truth beautifully, painfully.
Oh Sherry this is incredibly heartfelt!💞 You portray the harsh reality and hope for a better world so eloquently!💞
ReplyDeleteDear Sherry, how moving are your words!
ReplyDelete"it is hard, these days,/to know what I know."
The world has changed, and some say for the worst. But poets(like yourself) have the ability to find beauty even in the grain of sand.
Loving and grieving are lessons that go on and on. One lifetime is never enough to learn those lessons well.
ReplyDeleteWow Sherry. This is one of your best. As always, your words touch me deeply. So sad to see beauty dyeing.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the homophone just adds the icing on the cake in a most profound way in this poem.
ReplyDeletemorning/mourning. Excellent awakening.
Happy you dropped by my blog today Sherry
Much🔷️☺🔷️love
Oh Sherry, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Except, another reason for my tears to fall, unabated. FYI, mourn is an old way to say morning.
ReplyDeletethe truth in the last stanza is the hardest one to learn, yes? the question is knowing when to accept with grace, what cannot be changed and make peace with what you can.
ReplyDeletelovely, if not mournful poem, but I like the gentleness within it ....
It is heartbreaking to see the destruction of the planet whilst politicians blind are scheming and abetting industries that are doing the damage; presumably with the motto 'profit first survival later'. When will they wake up?
ReplyDeleteThat image of burnt paws is searing... hope the animals fled the fire to someplace safe. Heartbreaking.
ReplyDelete"it is hard, these days,
ReplyDeleteto know what I know."......How Beauty is fading and nightmare is slowly taking its place. We can do nothing but mourn. Heartbreaking...
Oh, Sherry, your last stanza so beautifully, so poignantly speaks to me. I can feel your disillusionment, but sense that your hope, although a flicker, is still more vital. So enjoyed this, my friend!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed every stanza of your poem, Sherry, but the one that speaks to me the most is the last one, especially the lines:
ReplyDelete‘…hold onto fading hope
like birdsong
in the morning (mourning.)’
The devastation is shrouding our home in colors that should make any feeling heart weep (and continue to fight back... in any way we can).
ReplyDeleteSherry - so beautiful and poignant.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is hard these days to know what we know. The older I get the more heartbreaking it is.
ReplyDelete