~John Fowles
Bubbles in the ice by Christian Guthier
Waiting
by Susan Kolodny
Waiting in the café for my son
who has been struggling up
from under the ice, trying to find
where it is thin enough to break,
but thick enough to crawl up onto
read the rest here
**********
Santalum freycinetianum by David Eickhoff
A poem by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha:
The perfume of sandalwood,
the scent of rosebay and jasmine,
travel only as far as the wind.
But the fragrance of goodness
travels with us
through all the worlds.
Like garlands woven from a heap of flowers,
fashion your life
as a garland of beautiful deeds.
**********
You can find the Poetry Friday round-up at Check It Out.
12 comments:
I'm trying hard not to be too disturbed by that first poem, Tabatha. Whether realistic or not, it's sad to me, but beautifully done. The second one brings hope, a lovely sentiment: "the fragrance of goodness
travels with us
through all the worlds." Thank you for both, always pushing me to think!
That first poem leaves me cold, cold, cold. So many pictures spring to mind...all of them terribly sad. A beautiful poem, as Linda says, but so very troubling.
I've been thinking a lot about goodness, so the second poem grabs me at the perfect time. I read this quote in a book and looked it up online: "...every spectacular incident of evil will be balanced by 10,000 acts of kindness, too often unnoted and invisible as the 'ordinary' efforts of a vast majority." (Stephen Jay Gould, "A Time of Gifts" September 26, 2001: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/26/opinion/a-time-of-gifts.html)
Two terrific selections today, Tabatha. I found the first poem to be so moving in a heart wrenching yet beautiful way. The second, pure and hopeful.
So very beautiful, Tabatha! The poem "Waiting" is especially poignant.
Wow, the first poem took me by surprise. Powerfully sad and heart wrenching in so few words -- leaving the reader to try to imagine all the circumstances.
Love the wise sentiment in the second poem. We can never have too much kindness or good deeds or positive intentions in this world.
Oh, so much said and unsaid in the first poem, Tabatha. My heart aches for both mother and son. The second, with its "fragrance of goodness" buoys us with hope. Thanks for sharing both of these.
Your photographs fit the poems perfectly. I love the line "fragrance of goodness." Thanks for sharing these!
Like other commenters, I find the first poem troubling because of what is said and left unsaid. I find it interesting that you paired these two poems. That juxtaposition is a sort of poem in itself. Thank you!
Waiting conjures up a sense of despondency - lovely contrast with the second poem by Buddha:
"the fragrance of goodness
travels with us
through all the worlds"
and such beautiful fragrance it is. I wish we have more of those.
What a contrasting pair of poems! I'm hoping that the goodness and beautiful deeds will give the first poem a happy ending!
I'm going to throw in a different take on the first poem. Because I've been terribly lost in my life, and then found a new way, and because one of my dearest friends fought his way back from crippling depression and found a way, too -- I'm going to see the first poem as what its title states: a time of waiting, patience, *agonizing patience* ... until the day when that new shore is reached.
Post a Comment