Becoming One With the Words
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