Followers

Friday 15 March 2013

TIME

Time, why are you so often cruel?
You deny opportunity,
Alternative past.
I could have lived a different life:
Could have lived it in his sight.

Time, I have reason to despise you.
You took him before I had enough of you
To reach into his era,
To grow up by his side.
Instead I've had to manage here

Without his warmth, his conversation:
Where his torture lies in my pre-existance,
Where pock-marked has grown
Beautiful again in French sunshine
And chlorophyll's reclamation.

In Gallic tongue, along the Somme
They speak of happy things now -
Are oblivious to the dark shadows
That lurk in your wake, where his agonies
Are just a nightmare away.

And I have often dreamt them too:
Have felt his heart pounding
Inside my ribcage - have glimpsed
Such horrors and heard their sounds
As insanity engulfed us both.

But when I open my eyes
I find myself alone beside him.
We co-exist, yet you keep him further from me
Than a distant galaxy:
As intangible as early morning mist.

And how you revel in your power.
You've divided our life paths:
Decided I was post-apocalypse bound.
So I grew up thinking like an empress -
That the terrors could never touch me

But I was wrong, wasn't I?
His will was stronger than you ever imagined,
And he overrode your arbitrary laws
To call to me from beyond the grave.
Your flimsy barriers crumbled then

And I awoke in purgatory,
Where my heart bled
With the sorrow of his hopelessness.
But for you, I might have re-written his story,
And perhaps spared us both

An eternity of hell and brimstone:
The vengeance of a heartless God -
The one he prayed to every night.
A deaf God, savage and malign;
Initiator of the holy wars.

And you stand there in the wings, Time,
As I see you in my mind's eye;
Laughing at the faithful who pray
To you in this one of your many disguises -
For you are the Almighty impostor.

Births, deaths and catastrophes -
All seem to be your call.
Who or what matters not to you,
Only when: Had I been born a year ago
I wouldn't be writing this now.

But you see, Time, I've cracked the code
Of your web of lies, your deceit.
This reality is just one of many,
And all it takes is a minor shift
In awareness to arrive at truth.

And he is my truth outside of you.
Ha! Did you really believe you could hold him
In that mouldering earth with tombstone above,
While I languished in an epoch
He would never reach?

Fool! The human Spirit is indomitable.
From his dust has risen a determination
Unchecked by mortality: an impulse that existed
Before your conception, when all things
Were one, and there was no separation.

Time, we're not the ones deceived.
It appears we've cheated you.
He is my yesterday...I am his tomorrow...
We are today.
And your empire has just imploded!

16 comments:

  1. This could be a movie! You manage to always bring all the senses into all your poetry. They're alive. Wonderfully done xoxox

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    1. I needed to write this...I probably need to write on this subject too often for those who read it...but it helps me release feelings.
      Thank you so much for your understanding and appreciation.:)

      I am still trying to comment on your blog, but my comments are returned to me as failures!
      Have no idea where the error is originating, but I have been having connection problems so maybe that's it.
      I will keep trying!
      Hugs xxx

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  2. This is fantastic Ygraine! ... when all things were one, and there was no separation ... Absolutely beautiful 'plot' and extremely clever writing. Love it :)

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    1. My heartfelt thanks, Rose!
      You are so kind.
      It is wonderful to have you back on your blog...I was missing your unique talent.:)

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  3. You and Billie write well together. :)

    Way to go Yg!

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    1. Oh thank you Gnome!
      So sorry to cover old ground...but you have known me a while now - it just HAS to come out periodically!!
      Your patience is much appreciated.:)

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    2. Though you may think you're covering old ground you add further understanding and insight of your sight and Billie with each piece. All necessary for completion.

      I'm afraid the only patience that I have is my impatience waiting for your next poem of perception on whatever topic it may be.

      ttfn

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    3. You are so kind Gnome...thank you.
      My greatest fear is that I may be boring people with my take on things, so it is absolutely fantastic to hear that you enjoy reading!
      Many, many, thanks.:)

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  4. I'm floundering a bit here, I don't know how best to express how much I like this or how much I got from it. At times it seemed a meditation or a talking to yourself and then it would come up for air and I would read it as your thoughts on metaphysics. Maybe you didn't intend it so, but I am sure that if I came back in a day or two -- as I surely will -- to read it again, it would strike me somehow differently. This is absolutely the most compelling poem I have read in quite a while.

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    1. To be perfectly honest, Dave, I'm not entirely sure what I intended. I just sat down and wrote as I felt. I wasn't even sure it would make sense to anyone else...but there it is.
      I suppose my metaphysical training has led me to where I am today, but having said that...I have experienced things extra-sensory all my life, so it is normal to me.
      But what I'd like to say here is...thank you. Thank you so very much for persevering with this.
      That means more to me than I could possibly express.:)

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  5. This is the type of poem you just need to get off your system, isn;t it? I could feel it from the opening lines. It's probably roamed inside you for days, or weeks, or even years, but you didn;t quite find the right rhythm or tone to set it down to paper. And once you do, bang! It just takes a life of its own. What I liked the most was how universal it is and close I feel to it. Many thanks. I enjoyed reading it even if the inspiration for it might have come from a place you don't like visiting too often.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. You are so right...I had to externalise it - had to get it out of my mind and down on paper...for the sake of my inner tranquillity!
      I didn't even try to edit it or change it in any way. It simply began to flow and I followed where it led.
      Thank you so much for reading it.
      I really appreciate that. :)

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  6. Epic poem. Time, indeed, is a friend and foe. I would love to have more of it. :)

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    1. Me too, David...or should I say, I'd like to have mine over again.
      I'd certainly do some things very differently!
      Many thanks :)

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  7. Time sometimes has a mind of its own doesn't it?

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    1. Indeed it does!
      I think a major lesson of life is to learn to move beyond it...
      Thank you, Keith.:)

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I really appreciate hearing your opinions...:)