Ode upon Salvation

Wading through flood waters
Fighting against the ebb tide
I'm struggling to find his side
In the shadows of what went before

A point of light on the horizon
Or just a shimmer on the sea
I will know whether it will be
The tide goes out and leaves the light

You may not believe it at all
Or you may not like it one bit
It really doesn't matter a whit
Cos you surely can't mess with fate

There's a lamp on the beach
A light for thieves and lovers
It shines invisible to all others
But I always knew that it was there

People could say that I stole
Or I don't know what's right
But I think black can be white
When you're drowning in the dark

The prince within the pauper
He was trying to end a game
After too long never the same
But the boat sank as he sailed away

I walked that shore every day
Willing that ocean to take me
I sought to fall in that dark sea
Holding only sky and sand in my hand

The sea god has a hard heart
For his life is bare and lonely
He pleases but he himself only
And perhaps he saw it reflected in me

So as I walked so I was saved
I looked out and saw the shine
I finally fell in that sea of mine
And I jumped and I swam and I fought

I didn't know if I'd find a light
Or just a mirage on dark water
I did know another's daughter
Would alight acid flames all round me

The fire boiled my watery path
Scalded my skin, burned the sea
Ocean rising as mist beside me
I swam a firestorm on water in the dark

The ship is foundering slowly
The timbers are splitting apart
An artist will try to save his art
But that trip itself will not save him

And so he watches the water
As it rises to above his ankles
It flows into a cage of shackles
Until the captive beast begins to rage

He couldn't see his own light
Brightly though it should glow
For it's on love that it will grow
He is a person who lights up the world

But I saw that struggling flame
Faint and stifled as it did seem
From the beach I saw the gleam
Didn't know if it was real or just my folly

But I believed so deeply inside
Don't know what or how or why
But somehow I had faith to try
And the belief in my heart got me through

I couldn't pull him from the sea
For he was never mine to rescue
It didn't matter what I could do
Realised it wasn't my fate to open his eyes

So I left him and headed for land
Had to sit and watch him drown
I had come to a desperate town
But the wisdom of despair had no comfort

So I sat on the shore wasting away
My eyes locked on that tiny speck
Trying to hold the anguish in check
Feeding the fire of belief with bits of my soul

I died on the beach and he died at sea
A broken soul couldn't save the prince
But that fire made the vital difference
For it welded the broken pieces of who I was

He had to drown before he saw
Had to shed what had no worth
The cold water was his rebirth
Don't save him but make him save himself

No man can hold back the tide
It will always recede eventually
Just as the sun will rise ritually
Ancient wrecks rise from the sea into light

And so the dark waves fall back
Showing secrets from the seabed
The lost arise and move on ahead
The light that was a shimmer is burning anew

Rising from the tide as a dream
But he is more real than before
He is not drowning any more
He picks up my spirit and carries me home

I thank the gods I believed enough
I thank them all that I lived through
That hardest thing I ever had to do
I survived and now my angel has come to me

My angel came silently in the dark
My salvation, my blue eyed angel
He crossed the line and defied hell
He came back from the dead and he saved my life

Reviews

[Truman S. Booth]

Stunning poem. The rhyme scheme was strangely compelling, and I was sad when the poem was over. A delight to read, though filled with chilling imagery. Spectacularly written, very thoughtful (and therefore thought-provoking), with a heart warming ending. Splendid work.

[Revolutionary]

This poem is a story.I love your style.I am not the reviewer you are because I don't know all them technical terms and I don't understand the structure of a poem,but I do know when I like it,and I like it

[Jim Parson]

What an amazing tale of love and loss and want and struggle and redemption and salvation. This is both lovely and moving, Zoe!

[HopelesslyDevoted]

this whole poem is so relaxing and comfort yet thought provoking all at once. i adore this! my favorite part is:

There's a lamp on the beach
A light for thieves and lovers
It shines invisible to all others
But I always knew that it was there

[ice]

A poem, too short in volume to be called an epic.. but with a messege of epic proportions..The poem weaves in and out of love and hate...back and forth, with metaphor's of myth references...which I love..
I usually don't like long poems, but this one is different..I had no trouble following a longer road this time....You don't need a GPS, to find you way to the conclusion.

ice

[Coyote Poetry]

The poem is amazing. Flowed like a mythic tale of the past. I like the feel and desire to find peace even if it means death. I like the used of the mythic Gods to strengthen your point. A outstanding poem. Thank you.
Coyote

[serpent]

this is a f*****g epic! a monster of a piece! a true tribute to the thought of meeting the inevitable fate and beliving that our salvation can make a difference...
the long walk on the narrow beach of death exquisitly described!

[Lilly Negoi]

two main things captured my attention the first time i read this:
"But I think black can be white
When you're drowning in the dark"
which is a MARVELOUS idea - the relativity of perception, not only in the physical plane but also in the spiritual one, is so well known, but so hard to accept.
and the second one:
"I died on the beach and he died at sea"
one can assume the "death on the beach" would be a metaphor for the pain of having to watch the death of another. but, given the mention of the "prince", this made me think of a mermaid, and the blue eyed angel in your conclusion - of the ocean.
one above the other i will have to read it again, but i REALLY loved it at first sight!

[E.H. Monroe]

Mind melting and stimulating. So many visuals and mysteries on one poem. This big ape requires one to crack some knuckles, press in deep and not give up till someone is knocked out.
I view the lamp for lovers only visible to those who have seen it, or left the darkness of the alones and choose to view it, or a trip for the dead
The confusion of black and white I see as the stress when nothing else is available.
The idea of re-walking the beach and having no light and nothing to show from it but the air and the surrounding sand is staggeringly ugly and gives the sweats. The feeling of intense anticipation and possibly a want for something solid, as clearly there is no way she is. That ol dark color paint brush gives death a kick in the chops
That f****r Poseidon (or Neptune for the Roman in ya) was known for the harder heart than Hades But the softy in him would be the one to reward a maiden dead on the shore.
The throw back to the light was a nice touch and her having to watch the drowning man drawn to, and her drawn to the same spot. Two souls, neither released until one takes the other
And let’s not forget the poor shleb who had to drown to death. F**k, that has to suck on terrifying levels

This goddamned thing is not for the weak of heart and not for the ones who want to play games. This is the long walk on death’s beach and the idea that true love lives beyond the sea.

Oh…and Poseidon is a prick
Bravo on a stimulator

[SpokenWord]

One thing I really enjoyed about this is the message that we can't save anyone but our self and in the end we too will meet the fate of death but our salvation still even then can make a difference. Spiritually you have touched on many things even things I call a myth like the sea God and I love how you describe his lonely existence.

The artist being so into himself that he chooses to save his painting over himself. I also love the struggle you showed us, of swimming in the lake of fire I believe and only having faith to carry you through. Yes this is an awesome poem.. :)

[Art Sun]

Nice work...even the Angels wish to know...I like this work of yours shows the creativeness that you weave within a poetic display of struggles and the Angelic saviour...I know there is more and more emotions but this is my focus...

nice...