Poetry is the food of the soul. It's my greatest contribution to the world and an area I can always grow.

Examining the spaces

Where the writing ceases

And the feelings begin their ascension

In between the rows of assembled characters

Hidden from plain sight

Their breath

Gives little warmth or direction

To those whose examination

Is but cursory and subjective

While others who approach

Each written work

With the tenderness of a scholar

Opening a frail text

From the halls of antiquity

Handling each page with reverence

Not of the religious type

But honorable all the same

For words are not meant to be worshipped

But instead consumed

Often and on lengthy voyages

Taking time to fully immerse and contemplate

Each syllable

Reveals perhaps a shadow

Slipping from its reclusive hiding place

Behind a punctuation mark

Or from beneath a hyphen

And confidently reading line after line

Unencumbered by and by

For the understanding that revelations

Are not always scheduled

And some never take form

Substance is in the eye of the beholder

When holding space

Or turning pages

And the real collection of imagination

Overtaking

As a vine growing in a fertile garden

Entwining the surroundings

While the immersion of the senses

Completes a transformation

Separating the darkness from the light

In an ever-widening chasm

Where the feelings show their magic

And the characters

Are left crowded on the vellum

Huddled in perfect stanzas

Surrounded by the emptiness

Of the margins

Comments

Ralph Schwartz (author) from Idaho Falls, Idaho on September 10, 2017:

Good call - I've made the correction

Demas W Jasper from Today's America and The World Beyond on September 10, 2017:

Something amiss here disrupts the flow: "As a vines growing in a fertile garden..." I like this exploration of the mysteries of reading and pondering for the deeper meanings hidden among the words, phrases, and punctuation. Well done.

Mark Tulin from Ventura, California on May 14, 2017:

Loved the line, "Words are not meant to be worshipped...but consumed" I'm not sure I want to worship anything let alone words. Good poem.

Suzie from Carson City on April 29, 2017:

Ralph.....Showing the Poet RJ to your readers....the softer, vulnerable man who's brave enough to let the world see the incredible talent of his muse...."And the real collection of imagination~ Overtaking ~ as a vines growing in a fertile garden...."..........Beautiful!

Audrey Hunt from Idyllwild Ca. on April 29, 2017:

It seems that I feel first, then I write. My feelings seem to be the inspiration and motivation for ideas. Fantastic poem!

Gypsy Rose Lee from Daytona Beach, Florida on March 31, 2017:

Nicely penned. Often our imagination can take us on incredible journeys.

whonunuwho from United States on March 27, 2017:

Nice work my friend. I enjoyed your poem and its message. Our words of poetry often reflect our lives and how we relate to problems and joys. Thanks for your contribution. whonu