Thursday, January 14, 2010

Eclipsed

Bouncing molecules
upon the planet
configuration

Ripples of uncertainty
land in random order
internal patterns
conjugating
conversations

Limited only by
dimensions of
light follicles

An old wound
has erupted
I stem the flow
I know the steps to take
but it still hurts

Haiti is a
torn hem
of the mother's
sleeve

I am less
than a bacteria

There is a
certain measure
of content
in not being
alone.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stirling you are a visionary with words. These:

"Haiti is a
torn hem
of the mother's
sleeve"

are almost crystaline in their compassionate accuracy.

Jan Hersh said...

keenly worded observations
flow on the map in my head

Brenda Clews said...

I've read "Eclipsed" a few times, and the images are stark, deeply touching, fragile, beautiful. I ponder. Each time I read I enter the world of pondering...

bouncing molecules, yes, we are this
ripples of uncertainty, yes...

and the wound, yes, I know old wounds that erupt that we know how to stem the flow of, and how they still hurt...

Haiti is a
torn hem
of the mother's
sleeve


pure brilliance as an image, a gesture, and it sears
deeply

a
certain measure
of content
in not being
alone


yes, I understand this...

and yet often the images in the poem seem random, I'm not sure how they relate to each other, there are big leaps, which I like, really like in a poem, the leaps make the poem for me, and so I've come to decide today that this poem is made up of a series of smaller koans, each containing its own image, own puzzle, own wisdom, and they are strung together like an abstract painting of prayer beads...

A beautiful offering of your stunning talent, Stirling...