Lost Souls

strangers meet like ships

and steal fleeting kisses

amidst the opportunities

and missed understandings

they stand their ground

while waves threaten

to carry them away

to ancient lands

where spirits live

and ancestors still rule

they claim their freedom

stand on the shore

fixed firm like sand

shifting and shaping

a new world

at odds with the old

sickening, decaying

losing connection 

strangers wander aimlessly

like spirits in the wilderness

no place to call home

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

Not your basic upper here. It seems to refer to those seeking love and who don't find it "amidst the opportunities/and missed understandings." It also seems to lay the responsibility at the feet of their fixed opinions and stubbornness. If they don't change their ways their ends are not pleasant. Sad.

[Helen]

Hi John the Baptist. I love your interpretation of this, thank you for taking time to read, think and review. I am just puzzled by the word upper that you use as I don't know what it means in this context.

[Chris Shaw]

Making the most of missed opportunies. Taking a chance with a stranger on a path to nowhere. This poem had a very spiritual feel to it. It had a certain sadness about it, as though life hadn't turned out to expectation. Thank you for the read Helen.

Chris

[light and ashes]

I really enjoyed this. I liked the contrast between old bonds and new relationships.

[Helen]

Thank you for your review light and ashes

[light and ashes]

You're welcome.

[barleygirl]

Sorry I haven't been reading/reviewing poems lately becuz I'm writing a book. It's good to read you again, becuz I've missed you. It looks like you might be at the cafe a little less, yourself. We all have our cycles. This poem starts out like it's about two people, two ships passing in the night . . . but then the reader's understanding grows & grows as we read on, until it feels like this poem is talking about the masses being ships in the night, like we're all in danger of being hopelessly disconnected. Apt sentiments, as people wait for vaccines to make this social distancing better (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Helen]

I love that you read other people's work with the same lively mind and intensity that you write with. I had been influenced by a mixture of other poems I had been reading on the cafe and had the theme in my mind of our spiritual disconnection in the modern world. I was also influenced by some of the really beautiful poems that don't rhyme, but do have an amazing flow and I was trying to conjure up something like this. For various reasons I have been around a little less and I have to say that one of them was that the cafe was a little less enjoyable without you Margie! It sounds awful, but at first I wasn't sure that I would be able to write if you weren't here! Then I deliberately gave it a go and wrote a couple of poems, including this one - in doing so and by spending some time reading others writing, I made some new connections and learned a little more about the cafe and the wise and loving community that it is.

[barleygirl]

Thank you for sprinkling me with moondust! Lots of times I feel dull as dishwater, but then I sit for a moment to try to gather something lively from whatever it is I'm doing. To know that it's noticed makes it easier to push myself beyond my flat sluggish norm.

[Gee]

I don't think any of us will ever be content with our lot, no matter the riches, happiness. There seems to be a part of our mind that is always telling us that there is more out there to be discovered and enjoyed.
I read your reply to Coyote, never hesitate to press the send button m'dear as you write as well as all on here :))
Good morning

[Helen]

Yes, part of being human.

Thank you very much for your comments, especially about pressing the send button. Truly appreciated, Gee.

Good morning, can hear the wind howling today!

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

I love this poem for the contrasts it threw up for me. Strangers instantly connecting versus strangers wandering aimlessly like disembodied, lost souls. We need to touch and connect more. Therein lies true freedom!

[Helen]

We do need to connect more! Thank you for coming along and connecting with your review

[poetgurl]

I really like this, i found this one to think on, but there is so much truth in this.
very well written mam.

[AJNJ]

Strangers drifting like ship in a wild and spiritual sea... that's what I felt while reading this poem. Life is wilderness. Love is strange.

[Helen]

Thank you for taking the time to read, feel and review. I think we are all lost souls, seeking connection, but many of us live in a world that has lost the rituals that create connection.

[Coyote Poetry]

Wonderful and haunting words shared dear Helen.
"strangers meet like ships
and steal fleeting kisses"
I liked the above lines. Strangers and travelers do attempt the kisses and rarely will stay in one place. Thank you for sharing the entertaining poetry.
Coyote

[Helen]

Thank you for encouraging words, Coyote. Having a go at poetry that doesn't rhyme, which is not my natural inclination at all. So I just called forth some thoughts (influenced by all the poems i had been reading) and tried to feel the flow that I read in others' non-rhyming writing. And then held my breath and counted to 5 before hitting the post button!

Thank you for taking the time to review - I appreciate it.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome dear Helen.