© Steve King
All rights reserved
Seven sails on the dark sea rose.
I show my face to the moon,
my ear to new tides.
When will the winds turn to me?
My mood sings with harbor sounds
while all memories protest—
each strain lifting
a weight of ancient wishes.
The shoreline gathers spirits
that would seem as men:
another and another and still…
each rapt in rediscovered calm,
clouds for lodestars,
dead reckonings for dreams,
mouthing silently the old sea psalms.
Done with this sea, I am.
Long done.
Done with all spirits, dreams and songs.
How full of want,
the belly of this emptiness,
how heavy, still, the hand
of the untethered past.
But how lightly ride those seven sails,
free of the tides at last.
There is such a lyrical feel to this, so much music, loss and yearning, that it takes a few re-reads to pry open the iridescent shell and get to the grit of the idea that makes the pearl in your third stanza. We are so done with all that--yet it haunts, yet it always seems something else, and maybe it even is...and there are the sails, to prove the intangible reality of the wind. Really a fine piece Steve. Forgive me if I've read anything into it that wasn't meant.
ReplyDeletethere is something so freeing of riding the waves...and an art to knowing how as well...not just the legs on the waves, but knowing the wind and currents, the things you can not see....the untethered past...like that steve
ReplyDelete"Done with this sea, I am.
ReplyDeleteLong done.
Done with all spirits, dreams and songs.
How full of want,
the belly of this emptiness,
how heavy, still, the hand
of the untethered past."
Ah Steve, how I love your writing! I read each piece over again just to absorb, as your poetry always runs deeper than what lies on the surface. In this I have gone from sadness, to a longing, to the decision to move on, and finally to freedom--all written in your wonderfully epic, lyrical style. It could be literally about a sailor, but more so about anyone who has ever weathered such changes. Beautifully penned, my friend!!
I love this, the yearning , the sadness felt. These words.. the belly of this emptiness,
ReplyDeletehow heavy, still, the hand
of the untethered past.
Beautiful!
I thought this very well done. Your images were crisp and new and magnified your point of view. Many lovely lines.>KB
ReplyDeleteSteve, what a beautiful share ~ I read this with sadness & melancholy but was lifted with your last verse ~ The past weighed heavily but we can cast them away and be free to move forward ~
ReplyDeleteA beautiful song of lament, of moving on...I can see, smell, and taste..the spray of regrets...are we ever done, really? "how full of want, the belly of this emptiness" and how well the sea expresses this...this is a beautiful poem, Steve...I think one of your best...that haunts. ~jackie~
ReplyDeleteSteve, this is just lovely--really wonderful. It has so much music and archetypical imagery-- a flow o longing for old ways, as it were, yet is so original and fresh. The spirits on the shore with the sea imagery as their guiding lights--so beautiful-- and the determination of the end of a certai type of wandering so poignant. The imagery and language throughout are so carefully chosen and knotted together. It is a beautiful poem. This is Karin by the way of Manicddaily on wordpress. On a mobile device that wants me to use an old blogger blog. K.
ReplyDeleteHow full of want,
ReplyDeletethe belly of this emptiness,
how heavy, still, the hand
of the untethered past.
So evocative, with an almost tangible despair. Great write.
Happy to revisit this beautiful poem. Especially like these lines this time through:
ReplyDeleteMy mood sings with harbor sounds
while all memories protest—
each strain lifting
a weight of ancient wishes.
Ancient wishes are certainly very weighty! Thanks. K.