words may disgust
may agitate
and instigate wrath's seething hate
but softly spoken
may entice evasive dreams
and tender guts
a bloom may bleed its crushed blush
in potpourri:
fragrant abuse
and mutilated
petals never pleat themselves
into pure prime and joyous life
they stay purple
and bruised
inside
but mingled in dark soil
the dying bud may feed networks
of eager roots
may strengthen bark
and trunk and leaves
and on tree's branches
birds of spring
may bring strong songs
and heaven's wings
or petals on a stream adrift
may travel
towards waterfalls
and rainbows
curving
cliff to Cliff
Author notes
I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of Walking, that is, of taking walks -- who had a genius, so to speak, for sauntering, which word is beautifully derived "from idle people who roved about the country, in the
Middle Ages, and asked charity, under pretense of going a la Sainte Terre," to the Holy Land, till the children exclaimed, "There goes a Sainte-Terrer," a Saunterer, a Holy-Lander. They who never go to the Holy Land in their walks, as they pretend, are indeed mere idlers and vagabonds; but they who do go there are saunterers in the good sense, such as I mean. Some, however, would derive the word from sans terre without land or a home, which, therefore, in the good sense, will mean, having no particular home, but equally at home everywhere. For this is the secret of successful sauntering. He who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of all; but the saunterer, in the good sense, is no more vagrant than the meandering river, which is all the while sedulously seeking the shortest course to the sea. But I prefer the first, which, indeed, is the most probable derivation. For every walk is a sort of crusade, preached by some Peter the Hermit in us, to go forth and reconquer this Holy Land from the hands of the Infidels.
HD Thoreau
In a list
A contest entry
- 35 Confessions by Heart Sutra.
2200 points, ended February 16, 2008, 14 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
-
The art of "walking" is something I am familiar with. Plus I appreciate the dedication to words and the effect of words. How often I have heard words I wish I had not heard, and just as often spoken words I wish I would not have spoken...and even more often heard the words never spoken...sometimes equally as hard to bear. Great poem.
-
every side will claim its rights
in this walk
this inner fight
can not claim other victory than achieving Equilibrium
other way there is only loss - destruction
only keeping balance means progress
-
-
You know, thats just lame
Your comments range from downright abusive, often and the others you like to hand out with these sleightofhand backward insults. You really should work on the style. And the nasty messages, really... Grow up. -
-
progress is lame?
-
-
Adding your comment:
