chisel my face
incomplete, as if part of me
is out there, screaming to be found
under the tangles and mayhem of city's life
wind,
bear me down
among the wildgrass & wheat field
peel away my gilded fancy words & tarnish
my crown of perfect life & complete answers
clouds,
teach me
grains of vulnerability, humility
the grateful sway of your seasons, wisp of breath
that comes with fragile moments, never to return
as i lay
down my mask,
cast my name to the lake
teach me to run again freely
& never fear facing the man I am
Photo by pixabay.com
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Poetics: Chisel me a conversation : Hosted by Lillian ~ We are invited to have a conversation with the artist or becoming the sculpture itself.
I can hear this sculpture saying just that. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful. I read it as a litany -- a prayer. I especially love these lines:
ReplyDeletegrains of vulnerability, humility
the grateful sway of your seasons, wisp of breath
that comes with fragile moments, never to return
Let us lie down our masks -- a wonderful thought for all. Let us live in vulnerable honesty - with unconditional love for all.
I felt mystified by this particular sculpture - so many possibilities for a voice from within. Beautifully done!
Always a pleasure to read your posts. Now I am feeling better every day I have an opportunity to get around to sites more.
ReplyDeleteThat haunting image has emerged lot out here on the trail, & each time when we see behind the mask, it has a different story to tell; very cool take by you; like a prayer.
ReplyDeleteHEAVENS. This is a gorgeous nature prayer. Just wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI especially love the last verse where the mask is laid down and that last line...brilliant, Grace.
ReplyDeleteI love how this is done as a prayer to nature, only when we do understand nature can we lay down our masks.
ReplyDeleteThis poem kind of reminds of the last four stanzas of Maya Angelou's 'Woman Work':
ReplyDelete'Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again
...' etc.
the grateful sway of your seasons, wisp of breath
ReplyDeletethat comes with fragile moments, never to return
Sigh... beautiful lines, Grace.
"peel away my gilded fancy words & tarnish
ReplyDeletemy crown of perfect life & complete answers"....love the force hidden in every word seeking true freedom to be found in simplicity...
Nature abhors masks! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMasks sure don't last long in nature's wake.
ReplyDeleteThis poem breathes into the sculpture lots of movement and incorporates nature in a marvelous way with words like "teach me grains of vulnerability" and "the wisp of breath that comes from fragile moments"....
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful, Grace!
ReplyDeletevery touching and sweet...I especially like the stanza with the clouds
ReplyDeleteI love the lay of your words here, Grace and how they glide from one stanza to the next so sweetly. Like a hidden dance of expression!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful, Grace...beautiful, gently imploring tone.
ReplyDeleteGrace, this is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the rhythm and how your words cascades in each paragraphs. Beautifully written, Grace. :)
ReplyDeleteContemplative and convincing plea to live unmasked!
ReplyDeleteThe last verse sums up 2 things in my own thinking. I will never be free again and I also have never feared facing me as i know myself to be, warts and all. All that comes before it seems to be the process of being sculpted by conditions and circumstance.
ReplyDeleteone thing the stone has no say in is how those conditions and circumstances work the chisel and hammer and what the end quality will be.
gave yourself up to the elements with such lightness and imagination in this one - coupled with that chiselled sky a beautiful piece of poetry
ReplyDeleteI love how you make incompleteness to be a good thing. Beautiful poem!
ReplyDeletei like the format you chose to address the sky, winds, the clouds
ReplyDeleteSorry for this late comment..
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to love about this...the shape of the stanzas and the plea or prayer to sky, wind, and clouds. Most of all, I was so taken with the idea of being incomplete and undone. Nature is such a good metaphor for our own growth.