wilderness kills

"wilderness kills"

 

 

They speak again of cool gardens,

of melons split wide,

of leeks softening in a pot

that never hurried.

 

We hear it,

but the day’s work won’t pause

for old flavours.

 

The path ahead is dry,

the load uneven,

yet it’s ours to carry.

 

We steady the camp,

set the pace,

keep the bowls filled-

not with what they crave,

but with what will hold them

through another stretch of light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

Author's Note

—

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

Your poem Freds reminded me of allotments. Years ago many had them to grow their own food. We used to have one ourselves and it was very satisfying to eat what had been home grown. These days there seems to be less time and people are working harder and longer hours to put bread on the table. I drifted with your words. Nice memories.

Chris

[redd Brick Keshner]

Yes, Chris, sometimes so much effort for too little benefit in return 🕊️🙏🏻
Freds.

[Lorry]

It used to be you got out of life what you put in, but these days all most are left with is struggle, to keep their heads above water when prices rocket crazily with no sign of going down anytime soon.
This reminds me of all the effort Katie puts in to her gardening and the limited success she has had. But home grown vegetables do seem to be far tastier for some reason.
A lot of paths ahead seem to be drying, are they not?
Nicely captured.

[redd Brick Keshner]

So true, Chris. Hankering for the good old days is kind of valid these days. Cheers🙏🏻🕊️read moreSo true, Chris. Hankering for the good old days is kind of valid these days. Cheers🙏🏻🕊️
Freds

[Michael Sun Bear]

Yesterday evening our residential group of poets gathered. Our leader, who has been ill, had no poems of his own to offer, so he read from Gibran’s The Prophet. Your poem feels very much like an excerpt from Gibran’s beautiful creation. Nice writing friend.

[redd Brick Keshner]

Oh nice, I used to ‘snack on’ Kahlil in late primary school 🙏🏻🕊️

[redd Brick Keshner]

The other was Omar Khayyam (sp?)

[Michael Sun Bear]

Yes! I had to laugh yesterday. I live in a Christian community where many of the residents I would term fundamentalists. Dick, the gentleman who presented the poems, I don’t think knows that Gibran was a Sufi, doesn’t realize that “The Prophet” refers to Muhammad whose experiences gave rise to Islam. The book has layers of meaning that escapes most readers.