Sunday, October 10, 2010

Poetry: Greetings from Elsewhere


Greetings from Elsewhere


It is not what you imagine,
this place I live,
so far from you,
yet not so far,

more complex in it's simplicity
that you would think,
more fearful and courageous,
cacophonous

even in the silent hours of night,
able to pause and pray
only by an act of will,
not nature.

No,
nearly all you imagine
is wrong:

There is more light here,
more joy,
more honesty and interest,
more willingness

to simply allow the landscape
to be, more confidence
in a quiet God
to weave his magic

into a stunning surprise
or a tiny gasp of beauty,
and accept them both.

==============

You never know where inspiration will come from. The title of this poem was blatantly stolen from a headline in today's Albany Times Union newspaper, an article about how many people are fleeing New York because of the high taxes in the area. Not at all the subject of the poem, but a wonderful concept to work with for a poem.

The picture was taken in New York City earlier this summer. You can click on it for a larger version.

Tom

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I love the phrase: "cacophonous/
even in the silent hours of night".