Survivors

Survivors

Monday, September 24, 2012

Surrender

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©  Steve King
All rights reserved

At last must I surrender all device,
though I shall have you here in any case.
Finally the evening’s crowd has passed,
and we are gathered well in solitude.
All things undone must linger in their place
and words unspoke must echo where they will;
large moments to give way to emptiness,
while we rehearse regrets for latter days.
This silence will beget the better voice
to move each note of mending through its way;
so between us there need be no cue,
no hardened rhetoric to stir the air;
just the knowing and the conjoinment
of old desires, ancient isolate hopes,
alive now in this spirit of new yearning.

Here then is the center we must hold,
and surety that we dare not efface,
no matter how the futures may incline.
We must abide while all old dreams unwind,
and as confusions rally in full throat.
This world does not offer us a choice:
all things move and we must stand aplace.
It is the beginning and end of time,
where all and nothingness at last collide,
where only instinct guides amid the rush,
and quick surmises serve forevermore.

I have never held to things so much,
nor kept a faith that served me all these days—
this sheltered hold alone must fend the fates,
and such adversities as may befall.

Though ageless dreams are all the while displaced,
and artifice has often sealed our ways,
this presence must endure, this hope remain,
‘til darkness does descend, and stillness reign.


Note:  "Surrender" will be posted on http://dversepoets.com/  Open Link Night.  Please visit there!


13 comments:

  1. you are right...the world does not give us a choice...and our solitude often carries a price as well....hope though, i try to keep it handy amdist the day

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  2. I like your reflections Steve ~ The second stanza resonated with me with the center, yet the beginning and end of time ~

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  3. "Though ageless dreams are all the while displaced,
    and artifice has often sealed our ways,
    this presence must endure, this hope remain,
    ‘til darkness does descend, and stillness reign."

    No matter how illusive, there is always hope. Beautifully penned, Steve. Your words never disappoint!

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  4. All things undone must linger in their place
    and words unspoke must echo where they will;
    large moments to give way to emptiness,
    while we rehearse regrets for latter days....

    Great lines and reflections. Love this write, Steve.

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  5. yes, may hope always remain... thoughtful, reflective, filled with life and truth.

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  6. Ah lovely poem - I liked the cadence, the mood, wisdom - though I'd like stillness perhaps not to reign - except when I'm trying to write! k.

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  7. The lilt and beauty of your words let me float in a sea of reflection, pitch-perfect tone.

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  8. Such beautiful reflection in this piece...what are we without hope?

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  9. great flow to this...a reflective write with many thoughts to ponder on..

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  10. So many good things in this, one of the first being:

    while we rehearse regrets for latter days.

    So true and so revealing - as is much else. A really enjoyable read.

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  11. For some reason, possibly the theme of mature love, perhaps the measured yet lilting cadence, and meticulous word choices, this reminds me of the style of John Donne. I esp. liked 'We must abide while all old dreams unwind...'

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  12. I agree with Joy - there is a "feel" of Donne, a taking stock and philosophically shoring up. The chink of course, is when your other for whom you've built your life is taken, the pillars fall and leave you exposed to the ravages of time and nature. .. all shelter is gone.

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    Replies
    1. Gay,
      A chink, indeed. Perhaps that's the next poem....

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