BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE
GENESIS
As I walked the sandy shore in wretched sadness,
the mighty surf reached out to me.
Its thundering voice spoke not of cold, dark fathoms
or the mystery of desolate expanse,
but whispered softly of an endless moment,
that moment when we were one.
It spoke of a time, before time, when time stood still,
when we danced as siblings
enraptured against the breast of God.
It spoke of the mighty thrust,
that eternal moment
that cast creation
into the windless void to meet its destiny–
he the mighty sea, destined to caress the shore,
and me, the eyes of creation,
smiling back upon itself.
The awe of its ageless mystery
embraced me in the familiar warmth of eternity,
as its timeless roar
gently began its song -
a love song
whispered to a loved one’s ear -
a love song of eons past,
but of a love that’s always near:
“Oh, sweet sibling,
I embrace your pain,
but this too shall pass,
and we’ll be one again.”
Eric L. Wattree
Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
Comments
Lovely.
It reminded me of a couple of other verses. First, the other Genesis, of course:
"the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
But mostly, Wordsworth:
"THE world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
by EmmaZahn on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 6:48pm
Oh, you had to say Wordsworth! Here is the sky after storm from The Excursion:
by erica20 on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:18pm
MARVELOUS!
by Richard Day on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:26pm
Nice. Maybe even more majestic than Xanadu.
by EmmaZahn on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:50pm
Could be--Wordsworth focuses on the creational aspects of what he's looking at, only hinting at the existence and activity of the engine that makes it all go, whereas Coleridge seems to be pretty interested in the recreational and procreational aspects of the majesty....
Thanks Eric, Emma, and Richard--it's been awhile since poetry.
by erica20 on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 11:08pm
This is just great.
Creative corner is alive again.
Thank you!
by Richard Day on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 10:27pm
Where the hell you been?
This is really filled with so many images in my head (I am nuts about Genesis) that it is hard to respond.
But damn! Thank you for coming to creative corner and handing this out!
'a love song of eons past'
WOW!!!!
by Richard Day on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 9:33pm
Somebody needs to haul out some Keats so we'll have the trifecta.
by erica20 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:27am
I'm glad that poets still remind us that the difference between the sea and the shore is at least 52% illusion.
by erica20 on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 12:34am
Wow! I'm overwhelmed.
You guys have placed me in the midst of some pretty good company, but I won't let my head swell until I can do it without the support of Horace Silver in the background. He can make a nursery rhyme sound profound.
Thanks for making my day.
Eric
by Wattree on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 9:14am