A Ballad For The Lost

Ballad assignment

In life I tend to observe

How all the people on this green earth

struggle from one place to the next

In surprisingly similar context.

 

In this world I cant help but see

How there are souls wandering aimlessly.

Electric current without a ground

Beating drums that make no sound.

 

On some mornings I feel this way

Absent the purpose that gets me through the day.

An arrow nocked without a bow 

An irrelevant brick in the status quo.

 

Yet I have learned to find direction

Despite my screaming imperfections

I place my sight upon the horizon

Allowing my view therein to widen.

 

I am just a book upon a shelf

Struggling to define myself

And although it may seem arbitrary

It is a collection of books that make a library.

 

I'm now beginning to understand

How tiny pebbles beneath the sand

All together form the band

That separates the sea

From the land.

Reviews

[Ashwin Shanker]

Absolutely brilliant writing.
We as humans, could often be questioning our existence, or man's search for meaning is something that every human being ponders about.
It might not be about the irrelevance of our being, perhaps the importance of feeling that we are part.
An integral part of the whole.
Great imagery, lovely use of words
I loved the second half of the poem.

[Ookpik]

Thank you : ) I think your right a sense of belonging can be a very powerful thing to a lot of people

[TheAimlessWanderer]

Wow this is good, deeply relatable ,great imagery
a real great story about personal growth and how are view of the world really shapes what we experience as person.

Loved it thank you for sharing

[Ookpik]

hey, thank you kindly : )

[Ookpik]

I wrote this while attending a creative writing course and was astonished at the similarities I could draw between my writing and the writing of my peers. It was like going from a puddle where all the minnows had no interest in what I was doing, to a pond where every trout, pike and cod cocked an ear to listen. It was an exhilarating moment of perspective and from that moment came this poem. My experience with this site has been an incredible reflection on that moment and Im ecstatic to hear that you can connect with it too! thank you very much for the review and I hope to read much more of your work!

[TheAimlessWanderer]

whoa thank you so much i was just so happy to see people that have a broader view point on life i love this site too everyone feels like a kindred spirit whether it is they are working through there own stuff and expressing it through there writing or they just love to write and connect with others and maybe spread an inspirational message to help some get through there day or just be in awe that people really think that way outside of your head i can't get enough of it people sharing there lives with others is such a beautiful thing and i can't wait until you share more thank you for your kind words and this poems ability to inspire others to look beyond not having a place in life.

[Ookpik]

Thanks again Chris : )

[I Am Svetlana]

This was crazy good & I feel while reading it, I was reading about myself. I often feel like a character thrown out of a book, into the real world. Completely out of place with other human beings since they seem to know where they belong & where they want to go in life. I always feel stuck when it comes to thinking about my life & what I want to do with it...not always a bad thing, but on this site, I'm an open book. I'm talkative and friendly, yet I feel like no one I'm around in reality knows anything about me. I feel anonymous, or...ghost-like, you could say. Sigh, anyway...very touching poem. I praise your writing abilities! It's as if you can see through me already...but trust me, it's a good thing.

[Ookpik]

Wow! thank you 👍 I feel that way from time to time too. Occasionally I'll take a step back and try to view my life objectively. While a lot of it may seem mundane there are definitely parts that I feel could fit into a novel or a screen play. I'm not sure if that's my imagination getting the best of me but I feel like its fantastic fuel for the fire! If I can sit back and ponder throughout the day, watching the world pass me by, only to get one stanza written by the days end, then im happy : ) If there are moments that feel thrown out of a book, then what better incentive to get ink onto paper. Thanks again for the review! I'm glad you liked it : )

[I Am Svetlana]

Oh, my imagination always gets the best of me. Trust me. Haha. I always imagine the many ways a social interaction I have can take & I figure out which one I like best if I don't like how it turned out. So my imagination really comes in handy when I'm not having the best of days, which is good. I just feel so unknown sometimes & it makes me comfortable, yet uncomfortable at the same time. I never really know how to think about it.

[Ookpik]

I know im responding to this really late, im going back and trying to respond to all comments in the best way I can. I know exactly what you mean about imagination, When I meet people I can connect with I tend to jump right to fantasies of lifelong friendships or even worse marriage. I've come to realize that when I do that it puts unnecessary pressure on myself and the people around me simply because its not necessarily realistic. When I leave life to my imagination it often pushes people away, which is exactly the opposite of what I wanted in the first place. I'm still young though, and I have a lot of life left to figure out how to meet friends and live as a romantic. Final note if I ever do meet "the one" then that's great, but i'm going to try my hardest not let that expectation mess with the relationships I feel I need the most. Thank you for the review Svetlana, and I truly hope your doing well : )