Tuesday, January 7, 2014

House on Fire

There is a life I never lived:
stopped short, dazed on the roadside,
stunted by smoke and ash,
waiting to become the stepchild.
One last astonished look at the ruin
and the grave it had become, I turn,
take the hand of a man and look for the way out,
into the air, beyond the circle of smoke.
 
Now in these seasoned days, returning to my people:
the perfumed aunts, uncles with quarters in ham hock hands,
cousins – my only brothers and sisters; I find that child, still dazed,
astonished by the mounds of dirt and what they hold.
The world disappeared into the ground, joy and trouble
rolled into the earth, a life, an era, an epoch of love,
and somewhere amongst them my parents and brother wait,
“…like water in water” life and death become one thing.
 
I take that child by the hand, turn his back to the stones
and watch the sunrise over smoky Carolina hills.
In the pond at our feet fish jump into the orange light,
hang above the mist, pausing, shimmering, still as air,
wild as wind, breaking away from the life of water
into an alien world of parched air and light,
a majestic dance of breaking patterns,
opening possibilities, new ways to new places,
before slipping back into their destiny.
It is a sacred dance as old as the world,
fresh as this flood of light spreading before our eyes.
 
 
Quotation from George Bataille


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4 comments:

  1. Ronald, if I understand this poem correctly it is about thinking back to the time when one is a child & contemplating what would life be like if a different path was taken through life than the one that one took. I have done this a time or two myself, each time realizing that I am glad that I took the one I did....but wondering a lot of what ifs as well. I think it is good to take that child by the hand sometimes, to come face to face with him again, and to recognize he still lives within you.

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  2. thinking of a life you never lived aka a bunch of what ifs that plague and poison the road he did take if he lets it... I really enjoyed this; the scenery is amazing and I honestly didn't want it to end yet.

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  3. Your description of aunts and uncles is great. I like the final stanza, with the fish jumping, and your closing lines:

    It is a sacred dance as old as the world,
    fresh as this flood of light spreading before our eyes.

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  4. I find that child, still dazed,
    astonished by the mounds of dirt and what they hold.
    The world disappeared into the ground, joy and trouble
    rolled into the earth, a life, an era, an epoch of love,
    and somewhere amongst them my parents and brother wait,
    “…like water in water” life and death become one thing
    ...

    ...I really love the imagery contained in these words. The whole piece is dazzling.

    ReplyDelete