Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The World Lays Silent



Shipwrecked by the seductive lull of greed’s sirens,
the world lays silent, face down, on a rocky shore

deserted by kindness. Its corrupted heart is
cracked open, leaking conscience into the sea,
quenching a crimson moon thirsty for bloodshed.

It slumbers, covered in perpetual night,
immune to the piecing rays of humanity’s light
till even the sun admits defeat, powerless
against the indolence of a narcoleptic world;

its paralyzed under a shaded tree rooted in ignorance,
indifferent to hungry children watering the earth
with tear drops, and deaf to the virtuous songs of
good-willed men and the wakening cries of mourning.

Helena Malheur  2010

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This is an old one but thought I'd submit it to:  
One Shot Wednesday: week23 at One Stop Poetry - Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet.

17 comments:

  1. particularly like the last stanza as i think there is much that goes unheard...thanks for not letting your voice be silent...smiles.

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  2. This is a deep one.Read it carefully because I want to appreciate it fully!The first stanza fascinated me.

    Love the pic,too.

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  3. Beautifully expressed protest and plea for the greed to end, and for humanity to learn to love before it's too late. Excellent piece. Thank you and thank you for following my blog. I'm honored.
    Gay

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  4. I always like it when someone takes a pen to the facade that masks our political and cultural realities under a lot of cosy cliches. Good job of using the written word to exposes the greed that drives the machine. Good use of metaphor with the tree analogy, also. Enjoyed it.

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  5. It is dark poem, conveying a sense of hopelessness. And yet the fact that there are still "good-willed men" offers hope. Dark, yes, but beautifully done.

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  6. Greed (which is basically selfishness) is a terrible thing to be mired in... nice One Shot, Helena!

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  7. Thank you all for the lovely comments. It's a subject matter that is close to my heart and I try to write about it quite often.

    June_Butterfly, I’ve always been intrigued by the Greek mythology of sirens -- the seductresses who sung beautiful songs to lure unsuspecting sailors to shipwreck... thought I would slip it in...

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  8. so well voiced:

    i really like tha way you work on these descriptives:
    lull of greed- deserted by kindness - corrupted heart - leaking conscience into the sea - crimson moon - bloodshed.

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  9. Really like the realistic approach to a world that turns up, then down, on such a wisp of folly.

    Well written and meaningful.

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  10. You have such skill in choosing words - this really helps to give meaning to your work.

    Great one shot.

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  11. I rather like this one - an oldie but a goodie, as they say. You've carefully chosen your words here, they build off one another and provide a power and depth to your rather potent imagery. It covers the darkness in the world, the greed, but there is a door in there still, that may offer hope - the fact that there *are* still good-willed men out there, somewhere. Passionate, strong-voiced, and well-written. With an entertaining picture to boot.

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  12. First line, last stanza... BRILLIANT. Nice One Shot. Love and Light, Sender

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  13. a resounding indictment telling it like it is-- thank you for stopping by my blog-- you might enjoy the poem I posted about Calabria in reaction to the desecration there-- xxxj

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  14. "deaf to the virtuous songs of
    good-willed men"
    Great strong statement!

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  15. good to speak up and not staying silent...

    ..quenching a crimson moon thirsty for bloodshed..was the line that touched me most

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  16. i dont care if this is an old one...its excellent...so glad you chose to air this for one shot...wonderful read..cheers pete

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I welcome constructive critisism; I am not fragile so go for it -- tell me what you really think!