elemental yearning

9 8 9 syllable count with 4 elements as strophes

this thick air, these wings, lifting --
am i cloud, can i know the sky?
soar in darkest night, stars see me?

this hard earth, these feet, every footfall --
I walk in mud, press soft clay
to darkest loam, where worms have wept

this water, these eyes, looking around --
I watch the wave, rolling with sea
into darkest blue, where whales dive deep.

ghost fire, ghost thoughts, they burn me --
yearning passion, can i sear as light?
rise in darkest smoke, where sparks are free

Reviews

[Pema Dorje]

I've revised the piece somewhat which came from the article about an Astronauts Diary: Pages from an astronauts diary survived the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia and a 37 mile fall to earth.-Associated Press

I imagined him to write something like:

while only a dream rolling deep inside the sea
a ghostly fire startled me
I fled to fields where tall grass rolled in wind
fell upon the earth, look'd to the sky
I know not why, I know not why
but I must fly, wells deep inside of me

[Emily B]

ethereal, elemental, elysian. . . the quiet beauty of these words grabs me and pulls me in to the place where sparks are free.