I like words. They have mystifying power. Words affect us without our consent or understanding. Great words do not have to make sense, and great phrases can be simple, complex, long-winded, brief, and on and on. The words catch you and then they have you, and it is too late to unhear them. I like some level of mystery and believe we sometimes channel the unconscious which, of course, reveal the most important things. That is one key difference between a romantic and a rationalist. Romantics are about the experience more than dissecting the event or feeling. Well, I guess I am a little of both.
Anyway, this poem has something to do with time, the past, how we remember, and more. I hope you take something from these words even if you do not like the poem. I gladly admit I do not know what I am doing and am not following any rules.
“Rocks on Rocks”
Now I know why they piled rocks on rocks
to remember a memory that could be lost
in the way that it was truly felt
to record the labor, to crystallize the cost
Some tomes say ancient tones they played
gathered meekly to reverberate the waves
songs leave little of the toil and pain
rocks tell stories, how they prayed
Now I know the difference, between me and us
whispered nothings blow away like dust
bones and tissue, monuments don’t last
minds are witnesses, that lie and hush
What good is lying among the lost?
life is for the living and investing well
we cheapen our gardens planted there
the plants slow-growing under nighttime spells
Virtue and honor, great mantles upheld
don’t water the ground or feed the dead
nothing of me will virtue record
rocks are eternal, rocks grow unfed
Ancients never conceived of time
at least not as an unbroken line
they knew my secrets, better than hordes
rest we are seeking, in rocks, not pines
It was never my fate to imbue
the world with music it was blind to hear
with directions ignored, the faithless steered
the thoughtless wonder, why rocks we revere
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you want to say in the comments. Feedback is encouraging. Engaging with stories lifts a writer’s spirit. Also, any thoughts received can help guide my writing choices.
An interesting counterpoint to my short story (which I will publish on SS at some point) Stone Outlasts All. https://ambreview.com/newsletters/a-muse-bouche-review-july-2023/#MT