The Wicker Colossus

[Pendragon]

The Wicker Colossus

I built my dreams on the Astral Plane
into a wickerwork colossus,
and stuffed it full of living visions,
breathing hopes, vibrant desires.
Then came the day when Reason left me,
and the last Thought out
struck a careless match,
and Reality burned my wicker image.
The screaming of perishing hopes,
dying desires, flaming visions
echoed in that awful void—
Souls in Limbo—
some salvageable, some beyond saving.
When I awoke, I thought it just a Nightmare,
but the stench of singed flesh,
and the eerie, haunting echoes
have never gone away.
Yet I started again to rebuild my wicker image,
weaving Fantasy and Optimism
crisscross, in and out.
Perhaps the Great Secret lies
in not cramming the wicker giant too full.

DL Harris
© 1/30/98

[Poppy]

The Wicker Colossus

I built my dreams on the Astral Plane
into a wickerwork colossus,
and stuffed it full of living visions,
breathing hopes, vibrant desires.
Then came the day when Reason left me,
and the last Thought out
struck a careless match,
and Reality burned my wicker image.
The screaming of perishing hopes,
dying desires, flaming visions
echoed in that awful void—
Souls in Limbo—
some salvageable, some beyond saving.
When I awoke, I thought it just a Nightmare,
but the stench of singed flesh,
and the eerie, haunting echoes
have never gone away.
Yet I started again to rebuild my wicker image,
weaving Fantasy and Optimism
crisscross, in and out.
Perhaps the Great Secret lies
in not cramming the wicket giant too full.

DL Harris
© 1/30/98


Bravo, Bravo!!!! The Wicker Man. Tell me you saw the movie back in the 70's
Dale? Your excellent poem truly defines the battle between good and bad...Bravo!!!!

[TheFifthElement]

Cool poem Pen (or should that be hot?!), love the image of constructing yourself, to burn it down, to start again. Just one point, in your last line 'wicket', should this be 'wicker'? Is it those lightening fingers again?!

I love it that you used the Wicker Man as the basis of the image. I feel a strange affinity to the wicker man since we moved to a village that has this behemoth at the entrance:

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd68/TheFifthElement_photos/buckshawman.jpg

Really liked this one Pen :)

[ampoule]

Absolutely amazing Pen. I love this one.

[Demian]

I liked this poem a lot, Pendragon. I look forward to reading many more. Time and reality are the only treasures of Heaven indeed, so KEEP ON WRITING!

[Pendragon]

Thanks everyone! Fire, it's the brain that works like lightning, the fingers are slow. Poppy, no I didn't see the film, I am a student of all things odd and interesting. I have a book here on the desk called The Dictionary of Superstitions. The Wicker Man is in it, but I knew of the Druid legend long before that. They updated that movie recently, I believe. It seemed an appropiate way to express how one must destroy ones self to start over, or maybe someone else tosses the match, but build again. I used the Phoenix legend in another poem.

Pen

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l108/AbsalomKane/Four/yoda.gif

[dibyendra]

Wow, your wickerwork colossus is full of hopes, fears, desires, dreams, optimism, pain !

Your poem beautifully started as :


I built my dreams on the Astral Plane
into a wickerwork colossus,
and stuffed it full of living visions,
breathing hopes, vibrant desires.

and when all those stuffing just burnt out, you thought again to start a new wicker image spun with fantasies and optimism ! I really liked that out Pen !


Yet I started again to rebuild my wicker image,
weaving Fantasy and Optimism
crisscross, in and out.
Perhaps the Great Secret lies
in not cramming the wicker giant too full.

And last two line really cut deep and leaves reader in whirl of feelings :


Perhaps the Great Secret lies
in not cramming the wicker giant too full.

Great :thumbs_up ! Thank you for sharing this poem Pen !

[firefangled]

A Wickerman of the mind. This is now one of my favorites by you, Pen. The image is how we often build dreams.

I can see Poppy's reference to the movie (the one with Nicolas Cage).

A very wise ending as well. Thanks.