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Compassion
An unquiet stillness rocks the earth.
All the cries of the half-alive
must collect somewhere, on earth or
in spirit lands,
and I know
because I've heard them:
In dreams I've stood at the edge of
that pool and felt the flight of
so much pain like spiteful wings
slapping the last beads of light
from the air,
and all the cries became one
razor-edged scream that rose and rose . . .
like the reckless wing, it cut my
chest and it flew forever,
Oh God, forever.
How sweet the frothy light I awoke to,
my mind twittering like a wind chime,
singing the dark visions away.
Why should I care?
The geese have returned with mischief
and redemption in their prattle,
and the lilacs will fill our brains
with amethyst till we shine like them,
and roses will weave ambition into silk,
and there will be light and creamy
air to devour,
and I'll watch yellow dollops of baby
ducks and wish they needed my affection,
and there will be the fragrance
of life multiplying on the
shaggy forest ground.
Why should I care?
Why should I peer into the abyss?
Because somewhere, spun into the cloth
of birdsong, and cloudsong, and green
chiffon fluttering
is a love that tells me to look,
look because it is as real as beauty,
look because one season is a stroke
on the rambling mural that is
never finished,
but one cry silenced is music
to hear forever.
Patricia Joan Jones
On the whole –
On the whole – fantastic.
But these are the triumphs that sing to me…
“All the cries of the half-alive
must collect somewhere”
“the fragrance
of life multiplying on the
shaggy forest ground.”
And this line in particular – is pure genius.
“slapping the last beads of light
from the air”
I'm so touched by your
I'm so touched by your generous and uplifting comment. It made my day. My hearfelt thanks.
most of us live in our own
most of us live in our own circles blocking out the rest of the world
we are taught that homeless people are some how inferor to the rest of us,
we think beggars are just looking for drug money and if so we don`t ask why.
seems god has failed a lot of people in this world
ron parrish
Thank you for your empathetic
Thank you for your empathetic and wise insights. Your deep awareness of the problem makes you part of the solution, and that is a great encouragement me. God bless you.
maybe one day we will all be
maybe one day we will all be equal
ron parrish
I am so sorry for being so
I am so sorry for being so involved in my own stuff that I failed to see this when you posted it. I am about out of superlatives to describe your work, and I am lousy at learning other languages (believe me, I have tried), so I have to recycle some English words---fantastic, superb, excellence of both imagery and emotion---all the usual markers which your poems so consistently earn and then leave behind as they soar off into cosmic glory. I was reading a theory today, that suggests the universe is somehow compelled to provide an environment in which intelligence can thrive; and that this intelligence only occurs once, but not in multiples (meaning, as I believe, we are alone); and that the purpose of the intelligence is to document both morally and scientifically the status and state of the cosmos as it presents itself. And, in my usual verbose way, I have said all of the above to say this: your poems fulfill that calling so perfectly that I could easily believe that those who put forth those theories (some parts of those theories are decades old) had your poetry in mind as they composed their own cosmological theories. I hope that makes sense.
J-Called
That may be the most amazing,
That may be the most amazing, thought-provoking feedback I ever received or ever expected to receive. My heartfelt gratitude. I need to look up that theory. Sounds fascinating.
Thank you. And I say to
Thank you. And I say to anyone who might doubt my credibility in praising your poems: READ HER. My comments can never fully describe the glorious achievement of your poems, but I sure am determined to keep trying. The cosmos has given a few poets the task of describing itself: Vergil, Dante, Pop Stevens, and patriciajj. Like those peers of yours, your poems always exceed all expectations.
J-Called
I'm deeply touched and
I'm deeply touched and humbled by your support. Many, many thanks
they will be good,great and
they will be good,great and ugly in all generations,the bible teaches that closer we get to the end evil will rise even faster,there is beauty in all gods creations and we are drawn to the beauty,the hurting and the overwhelmed
ron parrish
Thank you for your wisdom and
Thank you for your wisdom and insights. Always a pleasure to read your perspectives.
you`re welcome
you`re welcome
ron parrish