Sunday, January 8, 2012

IN THE VILLAGE OF CHRONICLES DENIED

Near a stone-ware hearth
With hands flashing
Storytellers, breathing
hard, their fingers
fluttering like butterflies
Grope for words
on tongues
long silenced
To ensure now, no tale
goes forgotten

Beneath thatched roofs
Sheltered from
Heavy rains and soldiers
No longer in pursuit
One after the other
takes their turn
Lets the history come
bubbling forth; they
rebuild thousands
of memories

The gates have finally
been reopened
The villagers awakened
and, like parched
sailors who after months
at sea, at last
have fresh water—
they drink in every word.

S.E.Ingraham©



                

9 comments:

  1. I like the tale you spun here--it grew gradually until at the end it somehow fell into place for me. Thanks for visiting my blog, by the way.

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  2. Sharon- I agree with Peggy... the last stanza is amazing!

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  3. The importance of words. In the Christian tradition God spoke the world into being. He said, "Let there be light." Thank you for speaking to the heart of story and poetry. It's all about the words, we need them. They nourish us.

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  4. I love the story. And, your speaker speaks it in the manner of a true storyteller, so that I felt part of the listening audience.

    margo

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  5. Cool story poem, Sharon. Shared stories reinforce our sense of community and help us to build (and rebuild) our world.

    As Brenda mentioned, the Bible tells us God spoke the world into being. In a figurative sense, we speak our world into being too, when we tell our stories.

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  6. wow - thanks all - never thought of the tales told in quite so lofty a manner as Biblical (and I'm sure that's not what you're implying but I like the reference nonetheless)but I do think poets should keep the stories and retell them - bear witness as it were

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  7. Every culture depended on their storytellers before newspapers, TV and the internet. This is a wonderful tale, beautifully told!

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  8. Interesting poem: I wonder if you took the like out of the first stanza so that it reads:
    hard, their fingers
    fluttering butterflies
    If this would not read better? I am always thinking what can I remove and still have the poem work.

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  9. You know, I think you're right Paul - and I think when revising, I'll pare it down even more - thanks for the tip ...

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