•
standing at the edge
feeling far below
the great tides
the ebb and flow
the rise and fall
the come and go of centuries
wave by wave
day by day
might incarnate
the power of indifference
the surge of perfect apathy
and I
as insignificant as the grain of sand
bounced and tumbled
dragged helpless in the undertow
and that crest of froth
rises up in beckon
the silk of azure blue
slides smoothly down its slope of back
as it dances on the deep
how easy I could slip
into that fathomed realm
down down ever down
into the waiting silence
without so much a noticed sound
absorbed into the churn and roar
without so much a ripple
to disturb the steady surf
a subtle crease
irrelevant
erased even as it came
• • •
rob kistner © 2011
• linked at Magpie Tales
first, i love the ocean so you grabbed me right away…it often leads me to pondering as well…i think of you more than an insiginifigant speck though rob…those grains of sand thought many each are a part of our earth…love the movement in this as well…
Lovely description of the wave as “the silk of azure blue” that “slides smoothly down”.
The poem captures well the sense of being subsumed by something so much more powerful than ourselves; also how fleeting, and sometimes seemingly meaningless, our existence is.
Who are we anyway but relics of the sea’s great voice? Great sense of the awe and awfulness of the surf miill here. – Brendan
you capture the sense of looking death into the eye so well here..also the feeling small in relation to the big picture and depth surrounding us..wonderful imagery..
you’re an ace creating such a vast sea of imagery.. greatly written
I really like this:
“a subtle crease
irrelevant
erased even as it came”
The last few verses are just so smooth!
Oh, anyone who can recreate the ocean so well through poetry is definitely not “insignificant”. Keep writing, Rob. I look forward to reading you through 2012.
loved all the motion in your lines… nice depth to your piece
Very evocative! I’m sure we can all relate.
Really grabbed me with this one.
I stood on similar cliffs south of
the big volcano on the big island,
and one gets a tremendous sense
of being on the precipitous edge
of both portal and abyss; good
piece of work, sir.
Nothing quite like the ocean to make one feel insignificant is there? Your imagery is lovely here and I like the overall feel through out – great photo as well
the sound absorbed into the churn is great
ode to an airplane graveyard
There’s so much depth to this (i know)… an emotional pull in your words that leaves me awestruck. Wonderful!
Simply lovely!
hey i remember this one…smiles….good to see you rob
The sea always brings to mind my own significance…lovely write, Rob…
Good write, Rob.
This flows so beautifully.
=)
At the surface, the sea is so noisy and there is so much movement. As you sink deeper into it though, it becomes more silent and more still and you have captured that essence in this poem, Rob. Thank you for sharing.
you capture well the feeling that we have of insignificance against the bounty and strength of nature. yet we are drawn to experience its beauty, even to go so far as to be consumed by it. perhaps the ultimate pleasure. a wonderful and well crafted poem.
Dear Rob: Ah “the steady surf” which is time or timelessness but always the creases, the wrinkles, the trivialities will be “erased even as it came”. Memorable and visibly indelible poetry~!
i like this part:
down down ever down
into the waiting silence
without so much a noticed sound
absorbed into the churn and roar
without so much a ripple
to disturb the steady surf
Truly captured the motion of the ocean, a great verse!
I was drawn in, down, down, down, into the depths, felt the insignificance, Nature often makes me feel that. And yet we rise, we write, we live. Beautiful.
A grain of sand isn’t insignificant, and neither are you. Great poem.
I love that picture!!!!!!!!! Gorgeous!
…and I love how this made me ponder just how small we are and how quickly we could be swallowed by death and churned into centuries coming and just…forgotten. My brother said to me something that really struck me… we were sitting in the parking lot of a grocery store and watching people in their rush, here and there, living when he looked at me and said ” you realize, none of these people, including us, will not exist in less than 100 years?” yea. crazy huh?
Great work!
as the silk of azure blue
slides smoothly down its slope of back
as it dances on the deep
i feel like sinking in your words… i can smell every drop of sea water here
great one.
the imagery I had while reading this was intense. What a beautiful write!
Dear Rob
How we lose our selves in living… I liked the verse… and specially the lines…
‘the come and go of centuries
wave by wave’
Interesting…
Shashi
ॠनमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2012/01/whispers-haiku-on-how-i-write-poetry.html#comment-form
At twitter @VerseEveryDay
powerful to consider how grand all that surrounds us in reality, beautifully captured here. ~ Rose
Your writing makes me feel like I am standing at the beach while the waves are flowing past my feet and legs then almost knocking me down on its way back into the ocean on a beautiful sunny day. It can truly make you feel how unimportant you are in the overall scheme of how this planet will continue to go on when we are long gone. Our importance is truly just in our own minds.
Thanks so much for linking up with this weeks Theme Thursday. Hope you will come back next week.
God bless.