Marsh
by Stormcat
I learned as a child not to cry . . .
"men don't cry"
Nearly half a century of tears remained locked
inside.
A dike-blocked sea raging against all those
lowlands
(a desert ripe for assassination)
Breach releases a flood of unrequited grief
and pain
A salty flood . . . to poison already lifeless
expanse?
Stench of endless brackish sludge over-washing
barren fields of stagnant dreams
Lost are my brothers that balance. Strength of
earth,
fluidity of Intelligence, airiness of
Friendship, fire of
Poetry. Lost in the ash of anguish, weight of
loneliness,
dogmatic rigidity, weak apathy!
Yet once stillness sets, the stench motivates.
The floods that destroy become the
floods that feed,
stagnation nourishes the recapitulation of
evolution,
peaceful, beautiful, teeming life . . .
brothers formed anew . . .
A tearwater marsh is born!
I like first verse especially and knowing you end up breaking the men don't cry paradigma to become a better man.
ReplyDeleteKiss.
a tearwater marsh-I think I have inhabited that terrain before!
ReplyDeleteOh, I wish men wouldn't be given the 'don't cry' message! From this poem I gather that eventually the tears WERE released. I think this is a much healthier route. I like the idea of a 'tearwater marsh.'
ReplyDeleteI am a woman who didnt cry, either......"go to your room and dont come out till there's a smile on your face" - 40 years of obsequious smiling..........had to be strong, too, as a single mom of four kids, then had to be strong getting them through their hard times, two with mental illness....not a chance I could ever weaken. But, then, kiddo, my dog died and all the tears of a lifetime came out, for three years...........I so relate to this poem.......I so resonate with "the floods that destroy become the floods that feed." Great write, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI think I can relate, but only to a certain degree because I have had my share of crying, albeit behind closed doors. And yes, although it seems as if tears are a sign of weakness but then, as the ending of your poem beautifully illustrates, they can also be that foundation as well support on which you can rebuild yourself. Beautifully written.
ReplyDeletePowerful write, it was as though I could feel the release of the tears. Love the last line.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem! Really shows how you can turn a weakness into a power, and tears into inspiration!
ReplyDelete