Poemme Posted June 25 Share Posted June 25 The cicadas we’re going mad Then cut silent by footsteps on the dirt road When he climbed the fence The wire bending under his weight And crossed the field where he heard The birds scattering as he approached the trees The shade where he rested And listened to the sound of water From a gap in the granite slabs big as houses Broken and collapsed like dominoes thrown in a pile Something violent that tore at the land Remade maps and memories of places In the end something gives way Things get broken and put back together There was gravestone on a hill where the rain swept in And everyone went running for the trees. When they prayed on their knees He thought about leaving before the dark Crawling through the gap keeping his head low He wondered how it came to be and how long it would be He thought there wasn’t much to life After all everyone was gone and they would keep going On the other side the sun warmed the smooth stone Then it was cool and wet where the water swirled over the granite The water came in unbroken waves running up the smooth rock The light bouncing off the surface then running back down The rock slab lay tilted into the water Then it stopped and the water was deep and dark. He watched himself dive down through the cool water Wash away the dust of the road then turn and come back up And sit on the warm black granite and think about his luck And how the cicadas went mad in the sun How he might camp under the trees and fish And forget about how things worked out At the funeral the waiata tangi broke him down Then he headed south again the letter still in his pocket Where the water was darker he saw some movement A shape coming slow and easy from the bottom He saw the fin break the water clean and fast Close enough to see the cold eye and the gills working Back on the dirt road he felt for the letter in his pocket Sometimes things started off fine then they went bad. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger11 Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 Enjoyed. Particularly liked the waiata tangi. The ending, the creature breaking the water, was a chiller. The madness of cicadas was a striking thought too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 Hi Poemme, I really enjoyed this saga. The couplets allowed easy reading of this relatively long piece. The sonic imagery was as evident as the visual. It kept me reading. I agree with Badge, waiata tangi, held my interest. Being a Californian and having ties to the Hawaiian Islands, my mind went there first. The phonetic language is very similar but I've never encountered cicadas on the islands, so I went searching. Of course Maori, close relative to our islanders. ~~Tink Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poemme Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 10 hours ago, badger11 said: Enjoyed. Particularly liked the waiata tangi. The ending, the creature breaking the water, was a chiller. The madness of cicadas was a striking thought too. Thanks for reading and commenting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poemme Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 3 hours ago, Tinker said: Hi Poemme, I really enjoyed this saga. The couplets allowed easy reading of this relatively long piece. The sonic imagery was as evident as the visual. It kept me reading. I agree with Badge, waiata tangi, held my interest. Being a Californian and having ties to the Hawaiian Islands, my mind went there first. The phonetic language is very similar but I've never encountered cicadas on the islands, so I went searching. Of course Maori, close relative to our islanders. ~~Tink Thanks Tinker. By the way, is there a way here for me to close up line spacing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Hi Poemme, Yes, to Line space at the end of your line hold your shift down and hit enter it tightens the line. ~~Tink Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poemme Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, Tinker said: Hi Poemme, Yes, to Line space at the end of your line hold your shift down and hit enter it tightens the line. ~~Tink I’m working on an Ipad. So any alternatives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, Poemme said: 4 hours ago, Tinker said: I’m working on an Ipad. So any alternatives? Yes, I am now on my iPad. At the end of your line hold your Cap arrow down and hit return and it tightens your lines Play with it. Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poemme Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David W. Parsley Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 A vivid narrative, Poemme, it holds the ring of authentic experience that cannot be reduced to mere "meaning." You simply take us with you. Compliments, - David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poemme Posted July 14 Author Share Posted July 14 13 minutes ago, David W. Parsley said: A vivid narrative, Poemme, it hold the ring of authentic experience that cannot be reduced to mere "meaning." You simply take us with you. Compliments, - David Thanks David. It’s always nice to hear back from others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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