poem: A Moment of Silence

for the survivors- Sendai, March 15, 2011

This is a burden too heavy for all the world to bear-

Too close, Death's steed has shaken its bridle's sonorous bell

and we are bound by grief as together, we pause to stare.

 

A beast has emerged again from its resting plaintive lair

we see the rider is something vast, incomprehenisble, and fell-

This is a burden too heavy for all the world to bear.

 

The souls interred by its passing are the survivor's collective fare,

our sentinels bring us brazen images of each new unfolding hell-

and we are bound by grief as together, we pause to stare.

 

Ice melts in human hearts as fire rends the very air,

Eyes behold such destruction as human voices can never tell-

This is a burden too heavy for all the world to bear.

 

Wishing only for something to remember growing green and fair,

we supplicate for intervention, actions or words to ease this evil spell-

and we are bound by grief as together, we pause to stare.

 

With costs so exalted, even atheists search for belief to serve as prayer,

There comes a deadly silence unbroken by any save Death's final knell-

and we are bound by grief as together, we pause to stare.

This is a burden too heavy for all the world to bear.

 

Author's Note

We live in an age when the images on our tv screen bring the horrors endured by the human psyche into our living rooms. What we once imagined through written word, we now watch unfolding in real time in front of our eyes, disasters both natural and manmade. We need a new kind of compassion, the kind that comes from knowing that the world is both smaller and vaster than we think. The kind that lets us acknowedlge collective terror and grief, and moves us to act with generosity and courage in the face of our own uncertainty. I wrote this for the surivors of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, but it could easily apply to any of a number of other events we have watched unfold in the last decade. And, there will be more to come.

Reviews

[Tree]

The world is too much, sometimes. CNN, the internet. They and all their corespondents, resources, and contacts are having a hard time defining for us all these swirling events. I think we as a society might be driving ourselves mad. Technology and its outward exponential expansion is making it real hard, for humanity and its slow spiritual growth to keep up. A good piece Raquelita. Thought provoking. Thank you for featuring this

[Marie Anzalone]

Thank you, Diego. I wonder sometimes if our minds are capabale of keeping up the pace? I reda two pieces of information in the news thatv really gave me pause recently. One is that a Lear jet pilot has to operate on autopilot, because the plane moves faster than the humn system can respond to. the other is that 90% of the written or documented information ever created in human history, was created in the past 10 years. Putting these two concepts together, I wonder... is the information overload itself partly responsible for things like ADHD and increased deadly psychopathy? I have a hard time believing these things are not related. There is a reason I moved somewhere with a slower pace of life. I simply burned out trying to keep up. Let's just hope the center can hold, perhaps?

[Larry Dyson]

Yes!

[Tree]

Great points you bring up. Hard to tell if we can handle in the long run this deluge of information and technology, you would think sooner or later there would be a breaking point. What if in order to keep up (survive) we would not only have to adapt socially, but biologically? Or maybe, implants of some sort that allow a human being to tap in faster and to decipher streams information at a higher rate, or what if natural selection (say over a 1000 year period) begins to select those with moderate forms of Aspergers or people with mild autism? being that their ant-social behavior coupled with a propensity and genius for numbers and technology Gets them all of the jobs? hence they are the ones to propagate.. ( maybe one of the sci fi writers here at wc can take up the challege of that premise). Far fetched>? maybe, but consider that some 50,000 years ago the Neanderthals never really disappeared, but were bred out –––by homo sapiens. Seems we all (some Europeans more others) might have a tiny percentage of their DNA flowing through us after all.... Like you Rachael, I hope the center holds.

[mattavelli]

Hello, Marie! :)
This is a lovely villanelle. It makes sense to me to use this form of repeating lines to write about tragedy, and you did it well. Thanks for sharing.

[gombeggar]

indeed..more seem emphatically to come, be coming, came, went and all the rest...well done piece...good rhyme and structure

[Marie Anzalone]

thanks gombeggar... the villanelle is a tough form but one of the few rhyming schemes I like to work with

[Poetic Beauty]

This is a poem the flows well and is smooth on the tongue. The wording is well phrased allowing pictures to form in the mind.

[Coyote Poetry]

The things we see on TV seem so far away. I went to some recovery missions in the nineties. Seeing the damage done to the land is amazing. I will never understand why man's don't understand. We best learn to live with nature in peace. Her strength had no limit. Your poem is true and honest. Years ago we laugh at Al Gore. Today he stand for the right things. Thank you for your strong poetry and thoughts. I will come back Friday and read some more.
Coyote

[W.k.kortas]

Damn solid villanelle with the added bonus of keeping a strong thematic string flowing through the piece, which is very difficult to do with such a restrictive form. Strong mix of technical aptitude with effective imagery and thematic content.

[alexlessah]

very very good. i love this

[ice]

Knowing how difficult the villenille form is to do well ,makes me appreciate this poem all the more.
I am amazed that it has been read 43 times, and has only gotten 3 reviews, in over a month, especially considering the story line and topic.
Even considering the size of WC, I am still puzzled?
Anyway, the poem is right on subject, well said, and timely..and I enjoyed reading it. I could feel the presence of Dylan Thomas, and Theodore Roethke in the room as I read..

[ice]

Sometimes I am amazed when I find a poem this incredible on WC, and only see a few reviews? Writing in villanelle form, and staying within its complex rules is in itself, congratulatory, let alone your obvious ability to stay on subject so well. Poems like this keep poetry interesting, and alive...at least in my mind..
Excellent work, I enjoyed reading this poem.