January 10, 2023
 |  33 Comments

The siege of this era has somewhat begun;
as rain of fire hits,
with a wantonness unparelled,
similar to what was a sudden rise
in unemployment
during the post-war period—it’s difficult
to fathom that hope blossomed
only a few decades earlier.
And so, a minute later, my eyelids open.

A disembodied voice at the end of the line
haunts; hoarse and cold,
causing golden gate orange sun
to shudder and sink below,
I suppose I should have seen it coming,
at times dew, at times ice,
I have been trying to poetize it ever since.

I saunter as water falls under the grey
concrete bridge,
these bouts of nausea don’t live long,
though they have grown a limb
or two over the years,
supercilious
in its attempt to crush the poetic spirit,
to throw dirt in the face of perseverance
and return to the gallows,
why is it that we allow conviction to be executed
without a second thought?

And if not, then what’s the mystery behind
the disembodied voice?
what is the purpose of the siege?
Why do the images keep recurring, is it a theme?
Are they by any chance interlinked?
If only we could see past the glamor and lace,
sift through prophecies
hidden beneath the concrete and grass
then humanity wouldn’t convulse so much,
I thought, putting down
a half-eaten casserole on the kitchen counter,
I am a Poet,
I am both actuality and dream meshed in one,
it’s time we break free from bounds
of language and create a norm
that will surpass others in excellency and effect.

And now a poem materializes out of nothing,
its words longing to stretch out
into the wild,
could it be, that this was my mission all along?
I light a candle in reply.
I hear the cries of enthusiastic waves
crashing upon the shore,
perhaps this is a vision for future generations,
an omen, a calling
to move forth
with mettle amidst lawlessness and bedlam,
as Frost, Whitman and Hughes once did—
I would settle for nothing less.

 

 

 

 

Photo credits: Bridge photography by Jeffery Perry, Unsplash

Ingrid hosts at dVerse and invites us to write a poem inspired by a vision
or a dream or both. Come join us! ❤️

Posted for Poetics: Visionary Poetry @dVerse Poets Pub