steppes
By John C Lewis
(all rights reserved, 4/9/15)
ascend this flight
of barren steppes
attain the rough-hewn
certainties
afforded by
these endless plains
astride a
charger fierce and fast
attain the rough-hewn
certainties
amid the
sage and sha da wang
astride a
charger fierce and fast
alongside
falcon, lynx and fox
amid the
sage and sha da wang
afforded by
these endless plains
alongside
falcon, lynx and fox
ascend this
flight of barren steppes
rejected phrases
4/20/2015
(By John C.
Lewis; all rights reserved)
rejected
phrases take to flight
wistfully
circling the newborn poem
convinced
their time will never come
forlornly they
seek a different home
wistfully
circling the newborn poem
bruised by
the certainties of slight
they move
off to seek a different home
to find a
form that’s their birthright
bruised by
the certainties of slight
convinced
their time will never come
to find a
form that’s their birthright
rejected
phrases take to flight
Steppes is very Genghis-y, the wild, rough-hewn words lending themselves nicely to a poem with so many animals - and I had to look up sha da wang, admittedly. Discovering ordinary astragalus was a surprise! Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling great pity for the rejected phrases... the "certainty of slights" is probably one of the most tragic poetic phrases, EVER. ☺
Hope you got my e-mail, Tanita! I was going to reply here but wanted to send you the photo of the young boy racing across the steppes on his charger.
ReplyDelete