Notes About The Poem

** Below is the sun in ultraviolet photography. **

Ultraviolet

The sun shines in perfect darkness, twirling relentlessly ...

as do a trillion trillion other stars, daubed on the blackest black.
Still, life itself seeds and burgeons in the warmth of its precious light,
its particles, the core of an exquisite balance that brings each heart to thrum,
that breaches hard soil in spring, sings the haunting silence of the wilderness,

and bats lashes like butterflies in the wee hours of the dawning.
Some say, a laugh is just a laugh is just a laugh, thus ... and on,
yet, like Great Sol it can plunge any void, dive the deepest sorrows,
wound the twilight, mortal, and pierce the trembling rib of nightmares.

The shimmering joy it dances upon, is the true essence of ALL ...
nothing else so fills a heart or wakens a soul from mourning,
as crucial as breath and sustenance and affection.
Yes, a laugh is a simple thing, a seemingly trivial and mundane expression,

but it is an arrow sent forth from the bow of joyous reality,
a dart of delight, with the capacity to rend the thickest of shadowy veils.
Yet, like the sun again, it is dependent upon its alter-ego -
It is the shadows and dark realms and agonies and regrets

that make joy so exceptionally precious, and so amazingly sweet ...
you can NOT find one without the other, that is unmitigated, absolute.
Feel your pain - your sorrow, embrace the darkness with all you are,
but do so in the mind that until you HAVE, you won't know true JOY ...

or how splendid, cathartic and giggly wonderful ... it can be.





~ 3rd Place ~  in the "The Smile At The Foot Of The Ladder" Poetry Contest, Craig Cornish, Judge & Sponsor.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2019

Poem

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Marcum Wong Avatar
May 23, 2019 at 10:29 PM
I agree with Craig, all three deserve First Place. Apples and oranges come into play and I am certainly happy I didn't have to choose the Top placement. I loved your entry Greg. It is deserving of your top placement! Exquisite imagery combined with insightful reflections make this outstanding! Congratulations! : ) xxoo
Cornish Avatar
May 23, 2019 at 2:08 PM
This may sound weird, but coming from me perhaps nothing is. I've said to others that the top three were juggled back and forth with me for 3 days and this was almost "Too" good---you are amazing with how you take any subject and photoshop it in your head, producing amazing results. Few can outwrite you and I'm sure many would have you first here as I almost did but something subtle in the relationship to the prompt played with my placements. Like I've said though the top 3 were equally special.
Hamilton Avatar
May 23, 2019 at 9:02 AM
Love your word combos eg wound the twilight and so much more. A mesmerizing write Greg, worthy of the win!
Awtry Avatar
May 19, 2019 at 2:38 AM
I’ve read this several times and each time found something different to love. This is a fav for me :)
Lindley Avatar
May 12, 2019 at 7:17 AM
My friend the depth, beauty of this great poem is breathtaking. Closing stanza is the cherry on top of this fantastic nd many layered cake... A fav...
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