A lambent shine on the horizon lifts my eyes.
Stripped of illusion, I walk the wilding shore.
With spirit sore, my eyes still scan the skies
under which we humans should be so much more.
Stripped of illusion, I walk the wilding shore.
With all we know, we should be worlds away
from the misery of today; be so much more
than the sorry state of hungry power in play.
With all we know, we should be worlds away
from indecision; call leaders to intervene
in the sorry state of greed and power in play.
Hope in tomorrow still gives our hearts their sheen.
From indecision, we call leaders to intervene.
With spirits sore, our eyes still scan the skies.
Hope in tomorrow still gives our hearts their sheen.
A lambent shine on the horizon lifts our eyes.
Words used: horizon, lambent, intervene, stripped, illusion, indecision.
I wrote this pantoum as an exercise, using Kerry's word list to describe the conflicted feelings I have walking this beautiful landscape, knowing the environmental devastation happening everywhere, also knowing a tsunami could come at any moment and wash this coastline away. And yet we have to hold onto hope somehow, against all the mounting evidence that we have been much too slow to awaken.
Please don't walk around worrying about tsunamis, friend. You''ll drive yourself nutty. Just take in the natural beauty you are richly blessed with and do what you can locally, that's what I say. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt is equal parts gratitude and anxiety, kiddo, as climate change accelerates. But while we have such beauty, we have to be grateful, for certain. And I am, in spades, having waited so long to return. Thanks for reading and commenting. It always makes my day!
ReplyDeleteSherry, you are a wizard with a pantoum. I love this poem. Every line shines with its own lambent light, and takes on extra meaning in repetition.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you have used this(often very challenging) form, Sherry, to make your message ring out like bells in the night, both beautiful and ominous. Each stanza, while connected,also is a complete unit, and your chosen lines infuse the last one with both sadness and hope. I have come to a certain resignation about some of this, but it still pierces the heart how incurably greedy and shortsighted we are, how we disrespect our planet and all its denizens, yet perhaps the cause is not lost yet. Excellent poem.
ReplyDeleteWe must keep that hope!
ReplyDelete