Poetry Thursday - image inspiration
For Poetry Thursday this week, the completely and totally optional idea called for image inspiration.
For this topic, we were to be inspired by an image of something and, if possible, post a picture of our inspiration.
I decided to post a poem I wrote almost a year ago. My poem, Witness, was inspired from the memory of watching a passing storm, as I stood alone on a secluded cliff top; gazing out to sea. The storm was violent, but contained, and so I was able to watch the passing activity, without having a single drop of rain fall upon me. It was quite a spiritual experience...so near, was I to the storm, that I could almost touch it.
This poem was inspired by my memory of that passing squall. I witnessed it over 10 years ago, but the imagery was so powerful, that it stayed with me. So I apologise for not having a picture of the actual inspiration.
I wrote this poem inspired firstly by the literal, but the poem itself is actually a metaphor for something that was going on around me at the time; something that was nothing much to do with me, nevertheless, I stood as a witness to it, and from my vantage point, I felt I could see its inevitable path - beginning, through to end.
Witness
Through smattered salt sprayed window panes,
A curtain cautiously flutters.
A distant murmur entwines a tender breeze;
Stormy undertones blend nautical mutter.
Threatening cumulus bloom with haste.
Ferocity builds with tempest’s intent.
A distant mist drenches heavy horizons,
Expressing God and Angels lament.
From a plateau of bordering coastal crust;
having endured eons of nature’s lashings,
Bearing witness to this distant mistral,
Though absent from its transmuting passions.
Marine bound rain replenishing
The weary soul of the salty sea.
Gently sweeping as do wings of a wasp,
Or sprouting forth like bloody mutiny.
I dwell the crown of this shy plateau,
Where below, earth and water collide.
I observe the tempest billowing westward,
An untamed odyssey, it loathes to subside.
© Strauss
22/4/06
20 comments:
spectacular imagery. perfect for this prompt!
very atmospheric and evocative...
Great imagery. I like the structure you have created here, it suits the subject of your poem. Good write.
very fun and beautiful read. One of the few religious poems I have truly enjoyed
Hi Strauss,
What a clever poet you are using difficult studied words.
I didn't particpate in Poetry Thursday today but I like your contribution a lot.
The surreal picture of a passing storm did indeed work its magic on you. :-)
Wowi.....nice how you also explained what was the inspiration within it....your wordplay is amazing....:)
Enjoyed it:)
This reads like a poem you'd find in a literary collection. It is one of my favorites. ;)
Does the storm subside?
beautiful photo...it matches the strength of your language
A distant mist drenches heavy horizons,
Expressing God and Angels lament.
Truly beautiful lines.
This reminds me of all those times I have stood out in the path of an approaching storm. I could feel the damp in the air and the promise in the wind. Very evocative. The classic approach to the ordering of the words really works well in this case.
Beautiful imagery. Storm, both outside and inside the mind just pours forth.
Loved the conjured images..
Brilliant rendition of a storm passing. But your explanation of the metaphor within, that is what sticks with me. The raging of the soul.
Really, really like this.
As has been said, the imagery is incredible. I could see the scene unfolding in my mind, could almost feel it.
This is my new favourite. =)
Wow, thanks everyone.
Heather: Like all good storms, the verocity subsides and eventually blow itself out, leaving all in its wake, transformed - as this one did ;)
I second all the above comments.
"weary soul of the sea" is wonderful. Very nice!
My PT is up.
"From a plateau of bordering coastal crust;
having endured eons of nature’s lashings..."
I enjoyed this statement, the timeless of it, that is so apt when describing any natural phenomenon, its ebbs and flows; beginning long before we were here and continuing after we are gone.
You are a gifted poet, Strauss. This is definitely one of my favorites as well.
Wonderful imagery...liked the photo too.
Certainly shows that you did live something stormy that day...
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