carried away

[CdnReader]

.

a shift in direction
presaged by the slightest of breezes
that gently caresses, moves through my hair
touches my skin, draws my attention
my eyes follow

without warning
a sudden gust blows through
i brace myself against the onslaught
but it tangles my brain, muddles my senses
lifts me from my moorings
my foothold is lost
i am lifted above

hang on

the wind subsides
my toes again touch the ground
foundation is restored

but the storm is not over
and although navigation is treacherous
the journey seems inevitable
i am engulfed

.
cdn/11jul06
.

[stormy sky]

I like!
it reminds me of the fact that though we know life is full of changes and shifts,they manage to sweep us of our feet most of the times;also of the times that we undergo certain experiences,and know in the back of our minds that there's more to come.

[PrinceMyshkin]

I too like it, but


.
but the storm is not over
and although navigation is treacherous
the journey seems inevitable
i am engulfed

.
cdn/11jul06
.

As in a few of your other recent poems, I'm left feeling still on the outside, with no knowledge of the nature of the the inevitable journey and the engulfment. One could equally conjecture that the storm and its effects are those of romantic love or a groping with existential questions, and I for one cannot fully surrender to the poem without knowing which it is.

[CdnReader]

I like!
it reminds me of the fact that though we know life is full of changes and shifts,they manage to sweep us of our feet most of the times;also of the times that we undergo certain experiences,and know in the back of our minds that there's more to come.

Thanks, Stormy. I'm very much enjoying your work here too. :)



As in a few of your other recent poems, I'm left feeling still on the outside, with no knowledge of the nature of the the inevitable journey and the engulfment. One could equally conjecture that the storm and its effects are those of romantic love or a groping with existential questions, and I for one cannot fully surrender to the poem without knowing which it is.

Perhaps a better question is why you're uncomfortable with this ambiguity. Part of my intention is to leave it up to the reader to make an interpretation that makes sense to THEIR life. I like that these can work in multiple directions, and in many cases, I have made an effort to build them that way. ;)

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thanks, Stormy. I'm very much enjoying your work here too. :)



Perhaps a better question is why you're uncomfortable with this ambiguity. Part of my intention is to leave it up to the reader to make an interpretation that makes sense to THEIR life. I like that these can work in multiple directions, and in many cases, I have made an effort to build them that way. ;)

Obviously my feeling that the poem is incomplete is not true for all readers. As to why I personally am uncomfortable with this ambiguity it's because, it's because my intuition that that what you may be recording is a storm of a romantic nature, in which case (I assume) the engulfment has something of consent in it, of having placed yourself in the way (or the eye) of that storm; but nothing in the poem obliges me to interpret it that way, and of it were a storm of a philosophical, existential nature, I'd want to respond to it differently. Unable to move with certainty in either (or indeed a 3rd or 4th) direction, I remain at a distance from the poem.

[CdnReader]

Thanks for this explanation, Jer. I understand better now. :)

[Poppy]

~singing~ "life has its little ups and downs"
and
~singing~ "the answer my friend is blowin in the wind"

[CdnReader]

Poppy, that's one of my favourite songs (the second one). :)