The Saving

This poem, The Saving, is about saving humanity from itself. In days of global warming, environmental stresses and struggling economies I likened the effort to the days before Noah's act of kindness. I thought it would be a good reflection of life.

The Saving

To be of sanguine shine

For no sheep, bird and swine

An inner waking for a shepherd

Fails off all calamity

Curtains a tempered breeze

A hallowed sport

Stopped firm in race

Humanity cries in bitter disgrace

For the attack of the innocent

The purpose never to fall from grace

To keep a smile always

Give thanks to the very air for breath to match

To share, to brighten, to cleanse the winds

The earth, the dust, the measured how

In each step we take

Harnessed and sorting with the human race

The waters so begin, oh, cherished ship

The crippling artifacts of time

The trembling, crawling, fate behind

Yeah, bring the cherished stock

For us humbled, gracious, living flock

Those redeemed in acts of kindness

Unfettered under errors blasphemous

That corner all despair

So leave that there

New life awaits

Harpsichord will know the time

Feathered wake acknowledged then in sink or swim

On your own course

For mine is bitter haste

In crippling fear

That may forsake the moment

While future harnesses marbles of truth

To throw at the doors

*

This is the poem that I entered into the Oxford Poetry Prize. I didn't get in but I thought this baby worth publishing so here it is. Poetry Prizes are an excellent way to get your work acknowledged and an advance to publishing. In some areas being included in a poetry literary journal is necessary to get a publishing book contract and also an advantage because it is one genre where a literary agent is not always required. Traditional publishing is a long route of patience as most of us know. That's ok with me. Some work I have saved for traditional publishing and some for indie. To date, I have 189 poems published in four books with approximately another hundred in the waiting. One in a literary journal, Highland Park Press; one in Realistic Poetry Magazine and three were contest wins for Library of Congress edition for World Poetry Movement call for entries, ten years ago when I first started writing poetry.