An Older Translation
When word becomes sound and love abounds
There is a before
There is the after
The sharp divide
between what once was not
And what will forever after be.
Once at a friend’s desolate land
of silica soil and scrub juniper
and dust-colored rock shadows
where mountain lions hid,
we startled awake to a bellowing cry.
We gathered, the six of us,
barefoot in the deck dawn light,
like the yipping coyotes
celebrating their kill, looking out
toward a death we could not see.
A bull elk, according to our friend who knew
to name the sounds of things.
In the beginning was the sound
according to her more ancient, more scholarly translation
discovered in a dust-covered book in a long lost land.
Not a word, she said, a sound.
Beyond fear, beyond pain
the beast’s cry moved across the canyon
like an aural usher guiding the creature from this life
to whatever follows. A sound not unlike
the gasp of new life,
the glimpse and taste of first love.
About the Creator
Vivian R McInerny
A former daily newspaper journalist, now an independent writer of essays & fiction published in several lit anthologies. The Whole Hole Story children's book was published by Versify Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. More are forthcoming.
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More stories from Vivian R McInerny and writers in Poets and other communities.
The Voyeur's Incandescent Reasoning
The woman sat nonplussed, in the Waiting Room. In a sort of daze, looking straight ahead patiently. She had already had three small breakfast's that morning and a nip of sherry, this was not unusual she would typically wait until an hour after she took her anti-depressant and was her morning routine. She was merely following instructions she assured herself, shifted slightly in her seat and feeling a little heart burn thought, maybe she should skip lunch. Dom had said to have the task done this week. She was well used to his methods and desired to get this over and done with soon. She glanced at her watch, smiled weakly at the Receptionist who was there for a moment and then gone.
By Canuck Scriber L.Lachapelle Authorabout 14 hours ago in Fiction
Comments (8)
Stunning! Absolutely gorgeous work. 😍 Subscribed!
Outstanding! So well written ❤️
This is breathtaking! Not a subscriber yet, now I am!
This was so beautifully written. Loved the imageries!
I love the imagery in this poem. Beautiful work!
So many brilliant lines! Beautiful imagery, great work :)
"A sound not unlike the gasp of new life "...the gasp of new life. the glimpse and taste of first love." This one is a winner for sure! I could almost hear the scream of the wounded animal and feel it mortal pain.
This poem has a graceful flow and the words are filled with imagery and symbolism. After reading it I had to sit and think about what I read. I read it again and took the time to visualize each line - I'm one of those people that must either understand the meaning of what I'm reading or form my own interpretation. My challenge in understanding this poem was not just the meaning. I did get the meaning. Death of the old paves the way for the new. The cry of death is sometimes a call of love awaiting. But the next thing is how do I connect this to the across the room theme? I'm looking at the bigger picture of life and death. The larger than life room in which we live encompassing our world, the galaxy, the orbits, nature, humans, animals, the ocean, everything under the sun and beyond. Breaking into love that we encounter from across that larger than life room can be like that cry of the beast moving across the canyon - feeling pain and fear. But once those sounds of death have ended and the pains and fears have subsided your mind is cleared to actually be able to recognize that new breath of life sitting right there in front of you across the room. A fresh love blossoming in the midst of the darkness of fear. The death of fear is love. Thank you Vivian for such an insightful poem.