Strength in One and Strength in Many.

I am born in an angry gray vapor of a mother
With billions of brothers and sisters.
We are separate entities, but yet
We merge, we ripple and writhe like
A column of smoke released into the sky,
We break apart with different identities
Stories rewritten but still in the same language,
And millions more hover on the breath of a wind
Up into my mother's mist.

Her heavy womb bulges, and
We break free, cascading at incredible speeds
Towards the ground.
I am an infant on a whirlwind of a journey.
The air is frigid, and I plunge through arctic drafts
Surrounded by my siblings falling to the same fate.

Far, far below is suddenly up, up close.
Some of us crash into rooftops,
Some flatten on upturned faces,
Some are instantly absorbed into the concrete.
My delight in the rush of freefalling is obstructed by
The terror of where I will land.

I am a tiny being, victim to the most delicate of
Zephyrs,
And the gust of a falcon's wing combing through the air
Sends me tumbling off course.

I land on a tree orchid, its petal shuddering
Beneath my slight weight,
And I roll down its length,
Slipping over and over like fingertips on silk,
Its pale seashell color absorbed into my clear body
And bursted into fragments.

The petal gently lets me go.
Subjected to gravity again.
The stream beneath is charging along,
Slowing down for nothing, especially not
Anything of my size.

The waves rush up and crash down,
Tossing their foamy heads as if
Eager to meet me.
I vanish into the masses with
The littlest of ripples.

I don't know if this is death,
Or if I have been born into
Something new, if I have gone
From a tiny being all alone
To a tiny being operating a slice of
A gigantic one.

I can't say if I'm still who I am,
If I can remember where I came from
Miles up in the sky, but I realize I am still alive
Because I feel the thrill of dashing forward
Within the stream's veins,
I hear the whisper of my heartbeat
Among the rough-throated symphony of
Millions.

Reviews

[Tinotenda Nyevedzanai]

I really like the idea of this piece its amazing but I think it's overly complicated unnecessarily which meant it didn't keep me gripped in after the second stanza I had to try to read it because I wanted to so I would advise some editing to alter the flow to ease the reader through the piece

[Falling Leaf.]

If you had to force yourself to read it, I would advise you in the future to simply stop. In art, nothing is overly complicated, because humans are beautifully complex creatures. Some things require a significantly more in depth amount of thought to interpret.

[Tinotenda Nyevedzanai]

That is what I did in 50 shades of grey. Not for it's complexity but because it was so poorly written.

[Coyote Poetry]

The poem is amazing. Open the door to thoughts and question.
"We break apart with different identities
Stories rewritten but still in the same language,
And millions more hover on the breath of a wind "
I like how you led the reader to a very good ending. Life is a steady teacher. We learn, we fall and we understand. We are not alone. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Avinash]

Intense and personal but at the same time I can sense a brave soul behind all these difficulties thrown by life. Thanks for inviting.

[Terrence Chang]

What a poem. Fabulous, brilliant, extraordinary, uncanny and many more. Wow!!! I am speechless. What a thought

[Falling Leaf.]

Terrence, it was a thought that rapidly grew, thank you for your kind thoughts. :)

[Terrence Chang]

If this is your rapid thought. What greatness you will share when you will share for an epic one

[Haeshin]

Awesome visuals that do justice to the subject matter.

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you very much. :)

[Valentine]

This write could apply to all living matter. It is born, lives its time, reproducing new and then it dies. Kathie

[Falling Leaf.]

You are very correct, Kathie, thanks for the read.

[R Smith]

for me this is a poem about rain falling from the sky (could be snow but i like rain better) whichever it is the most astounding poem ever written about such a thing, i love the moment of crashing into rooftops and absorbed into concrete, if this is only my interpretation then so be it but even so it is a remarkable work of art and an outstanding poem of our time, thank you Falling Leaf :)

[Falling Leaf.]

Indeed, it was rain, and I had a lot of thoughts behind it. :) Thanks for reading. -Falling

[Einstein Noodle]

awesome and inspiring .. you capture the unity of the universe in spectacular fashion .. i especially like the being caught on a tree orchid and rolling like fingertips on silk .. just beautiful imagery .. almost end reading it like a prayer this morning .. thank you for sharing!
E.

[Falling Leaf.]

You know how I try, Einstein. :) Thanks for the read.

[Cool Girl]

OMG!! This was so good, I don't even know what to say! It's going in my favorites! I hope I've said enough..

[Falling Leaf.]

More than enough, thank you. :)

[Cool Girl]

You're welcome!

[Jerome F Knox III pseud..]

Speecheless...I can't even write a review... Deep deep and I mean deep in awe I am....brilliant

[Falling Leaf.]

Rico, thank you. :)