Ode to The End

I remember…

Looking up at this same powder blue sky
With the occasional star becoming visible
As the warm sunlight ebbs from the day

And then an aircraft
Might have soared across my view
Silent and majestic, like a steel bird
And trailing warm breath behind it…

I remember…

Looking out at this same woody landscape
This face of nature, this unbroken green
As dawn breaks golden white on the day

And then maybe a chink
As milk bottles arrive fresh with cream
Maybe a motor humming softly to life
As an early riser heads sleepy to his job

I remember…

Walking through this same soft woodland
With it’s shades of brown and spongy loam
With squirrels climbing and the smell of earth

And then another smell
The smell of bacon frying over crackling logs
As happy campers laugh over their breakfast
Drinking tea as their care-free children romp.

Those things are gone now.
They are my distant memory.
The memory of an old, old woman.
One of the last few who remember at all.
The children now do not know aircraft, nor motors.
They don’t know milk in bottles, nor bacon, nor hot tea.
They cower in fear before the face of nature, that unbroken green.
I don’t even know how I would explain “camping” to these wilderness kids.
They grew up in this endless world where there are no homes, no cars, no travel.
There’s just this powder blue sky, and soft woodland, squirrels, and the smell of earth.

Reviews

[ice]

I love the ebb and flow of this, the way it gently carrys the reader on its shoulders, like a loving parent.
But, it is a bit of an enigma for me.
I am wondering who the "old,old woman"is?
This cannot be you, so , is it ,that you are not the narrator?
And are these lost children the ones who larp all day in the fantasy world of electric?, Are these the ones who don't look towards the sky in awe, like their predessesors?
Children that live in "no homes" are these homeless children?
or am I missing the points of your metaphors...
I am curious to solve the riddles here..or maybe I am just dense this morning.
Anyway...I do like the poem...especially how it draws out at the end..making the lines longer and longer is a fine touch.
Thank you for sharing..

[Robin]

this takes the reader to another place , a place i remember ...

[A. M. Hood]

Beautiful and peaceful. The ending is different than I was anticipating, but it added a nice twist.

lovely poem.

[kelly]

Very beautiful, yet haunting. The only thing I thought was unnecessary was the use of "And" at the beginning of a few lines. I would edit it a bit from "And then maybe a chink" to "Then a chink", as though the chink breaks the peace of the white golden dawn.

[Tina Kline]

Wow, very impressive. I can see in this starting from one point and ending back up there again. Eventually all we had will be forgotten. What will these wilderness kids start in making the changes in their world for their children and generations after them? A repeat? Will they fail to learn from history? This is a fantastic story in poem form. It could even be a beginning to a longer story.

[.]

WoW-i love imagery and the how sensory this piece is
and every line of the last verse is simply magnificent!!!
~An amazingly masterful poem!

james

[Jim Parson]

A surprising piece, beautifully written. It makes my stories of black and white TV with only 3 channels seem rather silly, except for the part about having to get up and walk to the set to change the channel. As I read through this, a great feeling of peace came over me and I remembered my life before the big city, only to be pulled into my favorite world of the surreal. Well done, Zoe!

[InkSlinger]

Your work never fails to impress me.. another super piece.
I like the flow and form of this poem, always vivid, always clear with the message..
So appreciate the journey you take us on.. again, well done!

[Revolutionary]

I think I am reading the story backwards.It starts with the power of destruction and ends with natural beauty.I must have started at the end .How could your work be so beautifully complicated.love it.even the plane in the sky.I realy love those wild kids under blue skies

[.]

. undoubtedly a spectacular piece of poetry ... the narrative flows beautifully and the end is indeed powerfully moving ...

. when i think about the world, i find myself groping in the dark ... here i am ... on the internet ... reviewing a brilliant poem ... and feeling inspired ... and there they are ... all the children below the poverty line ... in my nation and in others ... and i wonder how and when ... we'll be able to meet them and share ... and they'll meet us and they'll share ... and we'll all be citizens of one universe ... that would be a fine end ... but it'll take a lot of work ... yet all of that work is important ... thank you for reminding me, zoe ...