Road Trips & Random Finds ~ #OpenLinkNight 51






It is serene here
off the beaten path, miles from home.
A full tank of gas
let’s us know we’ll get back
but for now
it’s nice to pretend we’re not going.

The trail is littered.
Human debris.
Plastic, glass, cans...
What is art for some
is an example of their intelligence for others
They know better
but care not.

The deeper we trek
the cleaner it becomes.
The smell of the bridge
industrial
among natural
still somehow fitting...
Our sense trained to assimilate
what was once unheard of.

The sound of the water
over stones and pebbles
shaping boulders of granite
forming slate...
So long since rain,
her body has weakened
enough to allow us entrance

We wade through her currents
knowing if she was stronger
she could throw us from her waters
finish us in her fathoms
we take advantage of her fragile state.

Knee deep in her crystal life force
Our unworthiness contaminates
And I am compelled to seek forgiveness

We are alone
Away from the world
But never
Have we been more connected.



Claudia is stepping to the mic as your host for OpenLinkNight #51 at dVersePoets Pub.  Join me and as many as 150+ poets from around the world as we gather to share our words.  



Comments

Anonymous said…
You take us on a great journey with this one Tash....and we see and feel everything as you see it and describe it. I love how wandering, exploring can be so inspirational....you see traces of life where others have been and in those quiter moments feel the connection to all and everything- and this poem captures that so descriptively .... Just a shame we can't keep on walking....Or maybe we can
Louise said…
Oh, I can so relate to this...being immersed in nature is so purifying...why we have to be intent on destroying it, I don't know....wonderful write, Natasha
Brian Miller said…
i so want to be there...right now....away from it all...on the road and no map but just letting it take us where it will...some fun bits along the way too...their trash an example of their intelligence....ha...cool find on th seats though...they might make for a comfortable sit to rest....
Anna Montgomery said…
Beautiful, the imagery and pictures took me there! I often spend time soaking in the scenery, thank you for this lovely trip.
Claudia said…
i just LOVE LOVE LOVE how you describe the river and the moment in all its fullness and special mood of being connected...think this is one of my favs by you tash
Hot Rod Pics said…
Beautiful, and the last verse becomes entendre for what has just happened in the poem--you have taken the reader along with you on this journey, excellent.
Arron Shilling said…
A straight up head-holiday... and i didnt have to get wet or dirty or eaten by a bear or bit by ants or pooed on by a racoon... can you tell i'm a clean freak?! lol ...

cheers tash
naturally enthusing :D
Peter Wilkin said…
A beautiful poem Natasha, in which I shared your connection with the earth & all of its natural goodness ~ lost myself in the whole of it, unaware of the separateness of your words as I fell deeper into it &, like you, wanted to linger in it awhile before leaving it behind. :)
Laurie Kolp said…
I love being out in nature like that, too. Great piece, Tash!
The Silver Fox said…
As always, your imagery is striking, Tasha.
Timoteo said…
The last stanza puts me right there.
Chris Wood said…
Tash! You are always bringing it home to us my friend! The visuals of the water flowing so powerfully over rocks and boulders in a fast moving stream always look so refreshing and inviting! Yet we have no idea of the impurities and the callous contamination that exists in most of our rivers and lakes. It dawned on me while reading this that a word so wonderful as "purification" can be forever changed with one letter - a "T" (for trash possibly!) and what a vile word it is.... "putrification".......pervading our very life source...
Anonymous said…
Some lovely thoughts here.
Anonymous said…
a truly touching poem that i think many can relate too..i could almost feel streams of refreshing water through your lines...and the longing to care more about nature around us. thank you for sharing this...
Beachanny said…
Why do we think we're so much more "cultured" than the Indians (natives) who were committed religiously to leaving the earth as they found it, and we are committed, it seems, to destroy it. What a serene and subtle protest poem. I much admire it.
Anonymous said…
knee deep in crystal...

that is the essence of all that is, the crystal and the water, the molecules and how they hold together

yoga teacher limerick
Anonymous said…
I can relate to this is many ways. I am not fussed on nature but I can totally understand how you feel when you know its getting destroyed. Really beautiful and detailed :)
ayala said…
A great journey...We are alone
Away from the world
But never
Have we been more connected....so sad how nature is being destroyed and yet when we find ourselves in it, there is not much else that we need because it fills us with it's serenity and beauty. Beautiful.
henry clemmons said…
I have biked through some beautiful parts of the world, but more and more each trip is littered with disrespect and careless garbage, lazy scars. I luved your poem and the heart behind it. I even found a candy wrapper on top of a mountain in Denver and a beer can in an ice flow south of Argentina. I long for the undefiled path. Your poem makes me want that more.
Strange to think that the items of litter per square foot might be a way of knowing how far you have hiked into the woods, alas!

Seemed like a kind of baptism without all the usual ministerial rhetoric and choirs -- although there is definitely some nice singing in this one!

And if this is Nova Scotia, there are probably some teeny, tiny blueberries out there somewhere, too!
Anonymous said…
A beautiful journey, full of glorious images.

A great write.
Anonymous said…
Thank you for take me on such a glorious walk - I love the sense of connectedness with nature you express in your poetry
Oh, oh, oh! That second stanza--awesome! You hit home runs in your poetry. You blast and flash brilliant lines and stanzas. That's why I am a fan, because you write incredible lines and stanzas. The second stanza made my heart and mind leap at its beauty. You go girl!
mrs mediocrity said…
Oh, I love this, my husband and i took a similar journey just last week... there is nothing like getting away from it all, even if it is only for a short time, nature always soothes my soul.
pam prince said…
You even include smell and texture here - so the reader feels that they are at this scene. Loved reading this poetry.
Anonymous said…
love the personification - wondrous
Janine Bollée said…
Hiya,
Could you please UNlink blog from all the places you linked it too?
Thanks.
Anonymous said…
Lovely writing Tash - I really want to be able to take a walk like that myself, but given the summer we've been enjoying, the rivers are too swollen to risk it.
Jackie Dick said…
So well said, Tash! Why must we trash everything...everything we have built and everything given to us as gifts. Nature trashed. We trash ourselves in the process. Thank you for the reminder, Tash!
adan said…
beautifully done, esp liked,

"The deeper we trek
the cleaner it becomes." -

symbolic and true

and love that image with our out-of-context car? seats for a pristine view of nature ;-)

but those last few stanzas, boulders and pebbles, away and into true nature, could really feel the connecting beyond the words...

thanks so much ;-)
DQPoetry said…
I really enjoyed the journey of that Natasha, got me out of the office and onto a forest path for a few minutes haha

I liked this line:
"What is art for some
is an example of their intelligence for others
They know better
but care not."
This comment has been removed by the author.
This is lovely,Natasha, and takes me back to relive similar experiences.
t said…
This one really touched me. Thanks for such beautiful and cleansing imagery.
aka_andrea said…
Knee deep in her crystal life force
Our unworthiness contaminates
And I am compelled to seek forgiveness~
LOVE THIS! I am headed to the beach for a similar experience.
Semaphore said…
What a journey - through concentric circles into the heart of nature. Each stanza is a stage, a gateway, souls divesting themselves of the literal and figurative human debris - more and more until what is left is the purest part of the soul, and finally one with what it seeks.
Wolfsrosebud said…
lovely write... you've brought it so alive... so nice to go deeper in to the wood

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