Life Beyond Death

A tourist had spoken to me

About the land of America

Of Africa and even of my own Asia.

I said, I know little

Of the two as I know my own land,

I am no backpacker. I am a traveler

Who sees things

In different ways, and this is what I saw,

This is what I know :

 

At the end of every open land is a forest

At the end of every forest is a river

At the end of every river is an ocean

And at the end of every ocean you would find

Grains of sand that connect the land "

An affirmation

That at each end of every journey

We arrive

Where we started.

 

The arrival

For the weak is an end

For the strong is another beginning

Of a new course.

 

My heart bled for Haiti,

For Japan; and it bleeds, again,

For Nepal. A sage from the distant land

Spoke the same truth

I saw, I know, I have spoken :

 

Open the earth, it would give you life

If it shakes and opens by itself to take what it gave "

Accept the natural order.

Grieve not more than what you need.

 

The arrival of death

Is the arrival of a new form of life.

Reviews

[NeiL ArandA]

I'd like to drop my seeds of thought on this piece.

First Stanza - Three characters were mentioned in the opening line . A backpacker, a tourist, and a traveler. The first maybe an aimless wanderer, the second passively sight seeing for pleasure and the third actively pursuing both for exotic view and business venture. Why the author chose to identify with the traveler ? Perhaps she was a business woman herself and sees every oppurtunity as potential for growth and expansion especially in the area of location . You want to start a business you have to consider three things : Location Location Location .

Second Stanza - This really throws me off. Is the author talking about diversity of living things that depends on this planet. No matter how different we are from each other including the plants and animals and we have our own world living a separate lives yet we are all connected. This thought on second paragraph reminds me of the movie Lion King and the soundtrack Circle of Life. How everything is interconnected.

Third Stanza - maybe simply implies survival of the fittest or a strong willed generation that would not shut up or take no for an answer. The author is speaking and using two general term and leaving its audience to draw their own definition of weak and strong. Perhaps the author meant spirit or will more than physique or raw strength and power.

Fourth Stanza - Talks about natural disaster as part of human experience that pervasively intrudes humanity. The ancient civilization learned both to respect and revere these elements as in the ceremonial sacrifice of the Incas to appease the gods and the deitification of the Wave by the Japanese which spared them from the conquest of the mighty Mongols led by Genghis Khan.

Fifth Stanza -Talks about the tenacity and resilience of the human heart and spirit and the author encouraging the hurting victims of natural disaster to rebuild and triumph over their circumstances. Here in this paragraph I see a deeper side of the human soul . Its ability to rise above its subjectivity and its ability to cope and have hope.

Sixth Stanza - Speaks of Death as the culminating event for all living things that has breath. This great Equalizer both has the ability to purge us as well as teach us to change our way of thinking, way of living and wake us up from apathy and slumber of human indifference and suffering. Death and tragedy is one voice we all feel and understand despite our differences, diversity and status quo which sometimes propel us to a greater heights .

I'm not sure if I grasp everything the author wants to express but this is how the piece spoke and conveyed its message to me .... Thanks for sharing Ms Belle .

[Bhuyanshi Talukdar]

Your poem is a beautiful reflection on the nature of life and death. I was struck by the simplicity and universality of your message, which speaks to the commonality of human experience across cultures and continents. Your use of imagery, particularly the repetition of the natural elements, creates a sense of continuity and interconnectedness that is both comforting and thought-provoking. I appreciate how you explore the theme of acceptance and how it can help us find peace in the face of tragedy and loss. Overall, your poem is beautifully written and profound.

[Belle]

Thank you for the wonderful review.

[Robert Haigh]

A thought-provoking poem. I see optimism in this write, beyond the acceptance of the way things are. Life goes on... I am sure of that.

[VALORMORE DE PLUME]

I love this for its openness to cycles of change and for the wisdom of greeting the inevitable. Thought provoking and inspiring. Blessings to you dear Belle.

[Paul Bell]

You capture it perfectly. Life and death.
Nature gives you her land. Use it wisely, and it will look after you. Abuse it, the consequences are there for all to see. A bit like life, use it wisely.

[Aries]

Life is as precious as it is fleeting. If we mourn every death we see, we may as well mourn our own. The dead feel no loss. Well written, thank you for this piece

[jacob erin-cilberto]

lovely poem...there is a course in nature and we must accept it...take what it gives, give back what it wants...there is balance...and it is the same in every land...nature finds different ways in different lands...but the balance is kept.

[MOON]

We are all one and share the same fate and death I hope is a new beginning. Lovely write Belle as usual thought provoking.

[Belle]

Thank you,Moon...and I am delighted to be reconnected.

And yes, it is a universal truth that we, even the animals, share the same fate..

[gabrielle]

This made me think of cycle of life and law of the nature. The very mention of Haiti, Japan and Nepal (i must add, our very own the Philippines, too) made me think of deadly earthquakes. I sometimes think that the occurrence of natural disasters is nature's was of detoxifying itself from the toxic, which we created.