A strange wild song, all in the golden afternoon, echoes. Titles of Lewis Carrol’s poetic masterpiece.
The blood oranges are no longer crying;
split into partial fractions,
they try
instead to heal with taste—
why can’t it be the same with people?
I didn’t notice colour or creed
only prayer for peace sounding from a terrace garden,
noticed only
young children aged eight
playing amid the flowers and snow, regardless
of difference in religion and faith,
why then, can’t others see eye to eye?
Persistent, the dew of the morning shines,
perhaps it’s trying to dispel the hatred
that fills the atmosphere,
it’s bitter out here, come wrap your words
around me,
I think of Poets turning in their graves,
urging us bleed poems for those affected,
uncomfortable truths
that lash out every time we turn on the news,
is freedom no longer an option?
The luminous side of midnight
proves darkness is only what we make it out to be,
come, let us raise a pen for the perished,
they deserve poetry that’s burns bright,
that turns water holy,
that soothes with jasmine waves the souls
of those lost;
I didn’t notice colour or creed only prayer
for peace; only prayer for peace; only
prayer for peace.
Photo credits: Tulips in the snow, iStock Photos.
Posted for Poetics: Carrol Crush Saga @dVerse Poets Pub
32 Responses
I so wish those prayers for peace could help… I think it might need real actions to get people to see eye to eye again
Thank you so much, Bjorn 🙂 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Really like how your poem starts quietly, then just grows, and grows, with lines that make one gasp seemingly casually thrown in: come wrap your words around me, the verse says, and it does….until the numbing, echoing end…
Thank you so much, Ain 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
I agree with this. You said it much better than I could, Ain.
Thank you so much, Jenna! You are too kind 💄❤️
Blood oranges and snow. Incongruous but vivid. It’s in our thoughts all the time, isn’t it?
Ah yes, they are mostly grown in California, Italy and Spain. Usually in season in winter and early spring. Thank you so much, Jane 🙂 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Oh, please, ‘come wrap your words around me…’ I adore this turn of phrase.
Thank you so much, Christopher 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Your verses are a beautiful prayer for peace and your heart shines, very much like the dew of the morning, there is so much goodness that will beat out the hate, we must always have faith! 💓
Aww gosh! Thank you so much, Tricia 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
I applaud your call to action, for poets have a sacred obligation to bring to light the evil and inequities in this world. Your words stir me up, and my Muse is squirming like a toad.
Thank you so much, Glenn 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
favorite lines: “is freedom no longer an option?”
“I didn’t notice colour or creed only prayer for peace”
“regardless of difference in religion and faith”
Thank you so much, Tzvi 😀 so good to see you 💄❤️
let us all raise a pen indeed. wow what a great poem.
peace and love
rog
Thank you so much, Roger 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Your prayer for peace will echo in many hearts, Sanaa! Beautifully rendered, your words wrap around your readers. ❤️❤️
Thank you so much, Punam 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
~~~ ‘poetry that’s burns bright, that turns water holy, soothes with jasmine’ … let there be peace on Earth … your poem is amazing.
Thank you so much, Helen 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
We need to wrap our words around each other with words of peace! Well done Sanaa
Thank you so much, Dwight 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
The best thing we can do is refrain from giving our children our baggage
Absolutely! Thanks for stopping by, Eric 💄❤️
<3 This is beautiful.
Thank you so much, Kate 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
WOW, Sanaa – that’s intense!
Yours,
David
Thank you so much, David 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
“The luminous side of midnight
proves darkness is only what we make it out to be”
Such a beautiful, heartfelt wish for peace.
Your opening line hooked me right away! Blood oranges crying! So vivid, Sanaa, and beautiful imagery throughout to describe the horror and sadness of what’s going on.
(I combined your prompt with Thursday’s.)