Stranded

the end of the dream

 

 

 

The sails flap listless in a damp dead wind.

Sheets limp on the bow, she glances toward a

blank horizon, lost in the distance.

 

Below deck, frustration and words fill the void.

But here, silence on deck, the flat grey liquid..

No thought of rescue, as if she could walk on water.

 

Anger won’t cure this, winds won’t blow this along.

The distance is deeper and colder than any bay water.

Bridges can’t be built in a day, not by any mermaid.

 

Out there, the dolphins try to follow a dream

but quit in wise appreciation of Atlantis.

They are too sleek for this particular world.

 

Slow drifting towards an unknown shore, where

love and life settle in a brackish berth.

No safe anchor as she realizes she is stranded.

 

 

 

Reviews

[julian3]

So much talent in so few words; and so many emotions common to us all, painted so perfectly into the reader's mind. Simply superb!!
As are all of your works.

[radian7]

The poem sounds like the writer is resigned to accept a loss and feel depressed and despair. The lack of wind/energy conveyed by the flag handging listless in the wind. A tad humorous even in the mostly pessimistic "hope" of love and life found in the brackish water. A negative twist on a hopeful future.

[Toni Prehoda Kahler]

I just can't get enough of this imagry. You make me think of the terrible aloneness that comes from nasty arguements, unresolved conflict, dreams drowned....and how long and winding the time it takes to repair and reconnect, if ever. This poem is way, way deep, and fascinating to read. I read it again and again and don't tire of your words, only want to get closer to what you are sharing. Your imagry is fresh and clean and clear. I enjoy the lead-in sounds: "The sails flap listless in a dead damp wind..." and the "sheets limp" imagry that makes me understand in my gut that nothing is rising or moving forward. You let me know this all the way through by your words: "frustration...anger...distance... and the lovely line: "Bridges can't be built in a day, not by any mermaid". My very most favorite lines are,

" Out there, the dolphins try to follow a dream
But quit in wise appreciation of Atlantis..."

I'm so taken with this, I will be thinking about your poem, feeling its truths all day.....

[[untitled]]

Your words often light to the touch can leave a heaviness in the heart, well like feeling grounded. Mysterious.