Followers

Friday 28 June 2013

A MOMENT IN TIME



The old fisherman's cottage is crumbling,
like this, our moment in time.
It's very fabric, in turning to dust,
to me is symbolic of emotional rust.

'Hold on to your moment' - the words are crashing
through the fury of the waves
that mercilessly lash this rocky shore.
But our moment is lost with the tide.

Yet, oh what yearning to cling on - to
stop time in it's tracks and freeze
our smiles, forgetfulness of past or future,
and preserve forever this now.

In the darkness of windows behind me,
with eyes in the back of my head,
I swear I glimpsed the restless ghosts
of something we were meant to be.

I'm thinking of the disappointment of marriage,
of the lies we tell ourselves.
For I loved you once more than life itself -
until day-in, day-out intervened.

What good were such naïve passions then:
all that acting-out of impulse?
Where has it brought us, but to this day,
where we pose and pretend for the lens?

Yes, we're different people now:
what love is we're no longer sure.
Yet each one silently blames the other
for all those dreams unfulfilled.

So, who are we now - can we ever be sure,
although all these years we've endured?
It feels like we're buried six feet under -
and yet there's a faint pulse still.

Someday in the future when we're both long gone,
a descendant of ours will discover
this picture and in faded images will find
the story of two lovers.

They'll read of a passion that burned itself out:
of desires of the flesh that told lies.
But they'll also sense in the depths of our eyes
true love at a moment in time.
 

24 comments:

  1. These moments in time are ones that we really do wish could last forever aren't they? It's sad when they do not...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes...capture time and bottle it.
      And, perhaps, learn to see through the eyes of others!

      Delete
  2. Wonderful capture of a photos story , the dreams, the regrets, the sorrow.
    I envy the moments as the memories, happy and sad, for the story such a photo brings back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This one told it's own story really.
      Taken just over a week ago, the moment I saw it I began thinking of how we see ourselves, as opposed to how others may see us.
      We appear happy - possibly the ideal couple. Yet it hasn't been an easy road to travel...there has been a lot of taking for granted and lack of patience etc. on both sides (a lot like most long-term relationships, I guess), but that descendent will most likely see only the good.
      Perhaps that is how it should be...
      Many thanks, Anthony:)

      Delete
  3. These moments in time are to be treasured for what they are. We can never remember them as they really were only what we really wanted them to be.
    Unfortunately it takes one moment in time to create a memory but it takes two people to create a forever after.
    A sad poem, and yes I do sense true love in the depths of your eyes in this beautiful photograph.
    Simply superb dear lady :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it strange, Rose, how we can so easily criticize and find fault with something we unconsciously take for granted, when in fact everything we ever wanted was there all the time?
      In expecting that first flush of passion to last forever, we miss the deepening of love into something more solid...something that others can see, but we cannot because we're simply too closely involved.
      Thank you, Rose, so much:)

      Delete
  4. a moment in time! ahh ... and the faint pulse remains ... this is so beautifully written dear lady.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Celestial.
      I really appreciate that...from the heart:)

      Delete
  5. I think there are two worlds. One is the romantic, the true, the connection on a soul level and then there is the everyday, the mundane, where we deal with our flaws and the flaws of those we love. I think pictures capture the soul world. the ideal where love is present and only love. This was sad but beautiful, this poem. love to you xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you're absolutely right, Nyssa!
      There are two worlds...I call the everyday one the 'pretend' world, where we wear our masks to protect our inner child.
      I think I was attempting to hold on to the Soul world here, this 'moment in time', this momentary glimpse of perfection that can never be on Earth.
      Thank you Nyssa...you are such an inspiration to me xxx

      Delete
  6. A story that was once beautiful, that you should always remember, what hits me in the guts is your hand on your stomach

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Lorraine:)
      Think I must be an open book!
      So many people remark about that unconscious gesture of mine...it appears I always rest my hand across my abdominal region whenever I feel vulnerable!
      We had just taken a snap of each other, when this kind man offered to take one of us together. For some unknown reason, I felt very awkward...like too many eyes were on me. I guess it comes with the territory of being an extremely shy person!

      Delete
  7. Gosh, I don't know what to write. Your poem is beautiful, as often your poems are, but the feeling behind it... It's so personal and I don't want to intrude. Marvellous piece. But very sad, too. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thank you so much. That is so kind.
      I am often reluctant to write anything this personal, but the moment I saw this picture I felt something so powerful that I had no choice!
      I think it is probably everyone's story to some degree... is the tragedy of 'familiarity breeds contempt.'
      I am trying to look beyond the trivial now, to find the deeper connection in all my relationships.:)

      Delete
    2. I knew it had been a spur of the moment piece. It's got that gutsy feeling. Those are the better ones, aren't they? Have a great weekend.

      Greetings from London.

      Delete
    3. Yes, I think you are absolutely right...those emotions recorded as they are felt do tend to be more accurate and, therefore, to ring true.
      Many thanks for that.
      You have a good weekend too:)

      Delete
  8. Reading your poem and reading your comments I'm quite certain you won't submit to a pretend world. Seek beyond the trivial and you will find.

    I like the lines: "true love at a moment in time" "where we pose and pretend for the lens".

    Keep seeking my dear friend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh thank you, Gnome!
    I have been missing you:(

    That 'pretend world' has been my crutch for too long.
    Time now for taking a chance and baring my Soul, methinks...after all, what is the worst that can happen?
    Only another rejection...Haha :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. A lot of strong feelings surfacing here, not always clear-cut because there is depth and layering, what could be a shaft of cold reality might be cynicism. There's a lot of sadness and disappointment, that what was naive proved unworthy. The lines that touched me most were: the restless ghosts
    of something we were meant to be.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hmm...yes...I thought a touch of cynicism may have crept in, although I had hoped to avoid that happening.
    The moment I saw the photo, the words began to flow in my mind.
    So I just wrote them down exactly as they came.
    I guess one could describe this poem as the product of a complicated thought pattern...it wasn't terribly clear - even to me - when I read through it, but I decided to leave it as it was.
    Many thanks for staying with it, Dave.
    That is much appreciated:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. This, at the time in my life now, has brought tears. Yes, I hope there will be something left to remember.

    ... and you have eyes in the back of your head, too? xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I'm sorry Dale, for bringing tears. I have to admit to shedding one or two as I wrote it too, though.
      Eyes in the back of my head?
      Yes, think I must have them sometimes...I so often seem to see where I have gone wrong, but only when it is too late!
      Thank you so much for reading this xx

      Delete
  13. I enjoyed reading this poem - how true this life! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Susie!
      Really great to hear from you.:)

      Delete

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on my posts.
I really appreciate hearing your opinions...:)