Jun 4
Waking Dream
there are sleeping dreams
and waking dreams
shadows lie in sleep
shading my day awake
what seems is not always
as it seems when a boding
descends across the grass
and touches the planted stones
weighted down with ballast
stones across my back
ropes cut into flesh
another stone against my heart
anchoring my feet
to the unsteady ground
waves of grass blades
bend in breezes of loss
marbled stones
numbered one by one
rest in the ground
an abacus of death
count them and touch them
tallied and scored
they show the cost
of divisive war
fallen bodies and fallen hearts
touch them and count them
one by one by one
here in this waking dream
Pamela Olson, 6/4/09
For Carry on Tuesday’s prompt:
A Ballad of Boding by Christina Rossetti
“There are sleeping dreams and waking dreams.
What seems is not always as it seems.”
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I love the line: an abacus of death. And, how you’ve described each stone being weighted on a person’s back/ flesh. You look deeply past the norm and anchor your words to truth and understanding. Have a nice day.
I love the word abacus. You don’t hear it mentioned anymore. Makes me think of each day as one of the pieces on an abacus being moved daily.
very intense piece.. it took me much farther than it was comfortable to go… excellent write…
“an abacus of death” oh my that’s really sad…I can hear the clicking sound as each bead is moved to the end…
A moving and thought provoking piece. Thanks for joining in.
Pam,
I’ve only gotten as far as this poem and the one before it but your words are like jewels sparkling in the sun. Are you published?
And it occurs to me that several of us ought to take our best work and publish a collaborative book of poems and images. Contact me off blog and let’s talk if you’re interested.