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The power to burst the bounds

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The snow and ice have melted long ago, already the grass returns to fields of

  gold.  So why am I still shivering? 

The seas and rivers change their courses, and  flow awry. So why am I turned to stone? 

Faeries and elves stir up their sisters into

  dance. So why cannot I move my legs today? 

Immortality seizes man's imagination. So can I  live another day? 

And why do I carry all the hours of all the days with me? 

Zephyrs blow the seasons hither and thither, from spring to summer, from autumn to winter. So what is there to fear? 

From year-to-year the swift moon repairs the heavens. Tonight the star-clotted sky, tomorrow stitching clouds.

I have grown old with all this waiting. 

The good die and their heirs scramble and lie for their inheritance. 

Who knows why? The gods above?

The greedy hands of the already-rich reach out  for more. Always more. While elsewhere bodies are tossed carelessly into a ditch.

Decisions are made for others and children's eloquence is exploited. Innocence pleads guilty to no charges.

 If it is not you to restore your life? Who, then? 

The chaste godess, Diana of the darkness, is  not alone anymore.

None of the gods, can break man's pettiness and narrow mindedness. They no longer try to modify this ape.

All have tried and all have failed.

Stupidity is a self-denying ordinance.  A running away, like cowardice, from the potential  to begin again, again. 

 

◄ MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

Kassia: A Bold and Beautiful Woman, a Byzantine Poet ►

Comments

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keith jeffries

Fri 12th Oct 2018 09:39

John,

At a first glance this poem comes across as being depressive yet on closer inspection the words speak the truth of our reality. Rich in imagery it stimulates the mind to find parallels in our experience of life. The words concerning the rich wanting more and bodies being cast into ditches leapt from the page.

The words, ¨we who are left to grow old ¨come to mind as age induces these thoughts about life and its apparent futility. This poem would make an excellent collage.

A good poem Jon. One which to meditate on.
Thank you

Keith

Big Sal

Fri 12th Oct 2018 01:56

Whether full translation or simply inspired by, this piece has shown its colors well.

Illustrated (figuratively speaking) with lush imagery fit for a painting, and very relatable quotes of wisdom line its innards.

Loved this piece, John.

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