They rise like heat-mirages
at the edge of memory,
shimmering figures who never learned
the art of being seen.
They move through our days
soft as dust lifting from old floorboards,
leaving only the faintest signatures~
a tilt of the head,
a stubborn kindness,
a way of listening
that feels older than we are.
Invisible ancestors
thread their breath through ours,
teaching us how to stand
in storms we never witnessed.
They murmur in the marrow,
a language without vowels,
a pulse older than sepia photographs.
Sometimes they arrive
as a sudden stillness in the room,
as if someone stepped in
and chose not to speak.
Sometimes as a dream
where a stranger’s face
feels impossibly familiar.
We carry them
like lanterns under the ribs~
their light small, steady,
refusing to go out.
We live our lives,
their shadows entwined in ours.
And though they left
no names to call them by,
they remain the quiet architects
of our courage,
the unseen chorus
that steadies our trembling hearts.
TIES THAT BIND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
German
descendant
am I
ties
bind me
to
'Deutschland'
ethereal
threads
missed whips of Egypt
missed share of bread and water—
stillborn golden calf
9/29/2021
*Perhaps you’ll read the companion poem THEY WERE NOT GROWN
MAL AND JAY GOT MARRIED AND HAD 2 BABIES.
Seeds, they sprout
Sprouts they grow
To the image
Copied below
Descendants rise
Far above
The quagmire
Of our love
Arise and be
All you can
Be inspired
Be a man
Hesitation
Reflects doubt
Direction
Down the spout
Deliberation
Reflects thought
Lead beyond
Needless naughts
Arise and be
All you can
Be desired
Be woman
Descendants rise
From the ash
Of desires
Yes today’s thrash
In ardour
We are sown
Way beyond
What is known
Arise and be
All you can
Be coloured
Be hue man
Be true
Be you
It is all happening in a vacuum,
This impossible grand illusion
Burning in its full spectrum
Never meant for our narrow vision
Our spaceship built itself in orbit
Launching satellites to add to its moon
The descendants of a crash-landed astronaut
Our noses always trying to balance a spoon
The atmosphere’s aqueous delusion
Allows us to breath like fish in an aquarium
As seen from a different dimension
Destined to exist in this diluted medium
We are chasing endless days
Not fast enough to escape the sun
Preparing the last days before it dies
Our impossible universe undone
Precious Descendants
Oh white wave
Mistress of the sea,
And you, bright fame
Of the island;
Together you teach
The one who is like God;
A heavenly flower
That blooms with your touch.
Protected under the
Wings of constancy
Rejoice, for your
Grandmother is a Pearl;
Cloaked in iridescent white,
Layers upon layers,
She shines in her
Wealth of wisdom.
© COnnie Marcum Wong
Hands in hands and eyes
To eyes,heart to heart and
Verdicts upon verdicts...
The hearts have merged and
Nothing of asunder.
Ebony descendants.
Their loves powerful arms, like thunder,
Rigid insinuations yet
Like flower,
So they watch all night
To see it never wither.
Ebony descendants.
Ebony arrangements
Nature's love horns sparkling
Like silver.
Always together like
Lilies and valleys.
Walking shoulder high,Proudly
Brandishing ebony complexions
Like coco-butter or something
Like sweet chocolate.
Theirs is so pleasant.
These black descendants,
These ebony make ups
These elastic African sunsets ...
Yours is hugely elegant
Yours is truly excellent....
Thank God for your presence.
Man against man
Who shall it be
Descendants from trees
Hunters and gatherers
Conquest or wars
Achieve power and immortality
We kill with both hands
This curse from our past
We pray to our Gods
Enslave or genocide
Forgive us Lord,
We are descendants
From trees
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.