YEARNING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upon the cliffs she stands,
whispers of salt and time
curling around her.
Below, the sea murmurs,
the burdens of yesterday
swept away by foamy tides.
The gulls cry out, a chorus of freedom.
She stretches her arms wide,
inviting the winds of change.
Here upon the edge, she continues standing
a seeker in the twilight,
yearning for answers within.
Upon this precipice, she surrenders
becoming one with life’s ebb and flow,
finding freedom in the depths of the unknown.
The clock at tick-tock - appears a flower
On the Precipice of the Midnight Hour.
Green eyes scan the darkest blue; and brown eyes,
On the Precipice of the Midnight Hour.
Fuzzy figures all about the dusk-ing
On the Precipice of the Midnight Hour.
Brown spots on leaves; and Autumn wrinkled skin,
On the Precipice of the Midnight Hour.
Fateful showers begin with lightning-will.
On the Precipice of the Midnight Hour
The poet, wary, very still, shivers
On the Precipice of the Midnight Hour.
he would not avoid the void any longer
like a cliff hanger he dangled at the abys
abysmal emotions told him to leap yet
for action he searched for a jump lead
when silent retreat bonded with Self
nothingness created a vacancy for life
"I'm going down to the river gonna take me my rocking chair
Going down to the river gonna take me my rocking chair
And if those blues don't leave me
Gonna rock on away from here" by George Harrison...My father-in-law used to say this a lot but it was from an old Blues song probably more of a folk kind.
Too close to the edge of fate we stand,
On the mountain's peak, a risky land.
At the precipice of life and death,
Each step we take with anxious breath.
Too young to bid this world goodbye,
Too well to let our spirit fly.
Yet fear grips us, a paralyzing chill,
As we teeter on the edge, so still.
Injury and danger lurking drear,
Reminding us that death is near.
But in this moment, we find strength,
To step back from the edge at length.
So let us live with courage bold,
Embracing life, breaking the mold.
For though we're scared of what may be,
We choose to live, wild and free.
Standing on the precipice of fear and awe,
We are creatures in wonder and uncertainty.
We make all our heavens and hells.
This edge of possibility, where we search
uncharted interstellar dimensions,
the wormholes and blackholes
beyond our comprehension.
Intelligent maker of such things,
If it is evident anywhere,
then, we are surely too small to know.
Does it drift through space like
an unmoored ghostship or
is it the confluence of
universal consciousness,
the essence of intention?
Is this universe alone, or
just a branch of many on a tree?
Are we here by blueprint or
merely coincidental?
Are we a rough draft, or
Are we an objective?
It is hidden in the rain,
hidden in the particles of pebbles.
Standing on the precipice of fear and awe,
We are actualities in stupefaction on ambiguities.
We fill our voids with heavens and hells.
Yes, we are tireless seekers
poised on the precipice of the unknowable.
"Pleasure is the carrot dangled
To lead the ass to market or the precipice"
And when it is astutely angled
It will its objective more than suffice
How many have fallen for such a reward
To find themselves embedded in ice
While hoping for a lustful concord
There comes no greater fall in a trice
When tangled in such a honeyed trap
For which must be paid the price
Of leaping ere you look to take the rap
PRECIPICE
Precipice tempts to trek
Particularly me,
Partaking as trekker.
Peak of hill with sharp edge.
Peculiar structure.
Piercing firmament.
Pretty feeling to climb.
Who do I sing to when words fall on deaf ears?
I hear a stampede in the distance, calling my name
Do I not remember crimes foregone?
I am nauseated by clueless guilt and shame
When will it come time for me to stop running?
I need not the precipice to heed my escape
How have I not yet learned to be cunning?
I half expect a miracle to take shape
Who will aid me? Those I’ve pushed away?
I choke on parasites that put thoughts in my mind
How will I walk myself back from the edge?
I fall into failure and I fall behind
Where will I go now?
I’ve let the devil take his turn
Why am I forced to go and take my bow?
I bend towards and audience starting to burn
Please step away from the cliff edge
Really, we need to talk, come sit by me
Eric, we‘ve been through difficult times, but
Can’t you see, jumping won’t solve anything
I‘ll admit, I’ve been at rock bottom myself
Perhaps that’s why I came up here today
I considered ending it all, but then I saw you
Come and hug me son, I miss your dad so much
Everyone encounters grief, we must be open and honest
Steep, sharp, split, and, as an abandoned architecture, weak
How I managed to get to its top, I truly don't know.
Fear, frustration, angst, awe, and helplessness were at their peak.
Over the sea beneath the cliffs, worn-out yachts slowly row.
On whom should I put my faith at this hour of nullity?
What a fool am I who could go up and couldn't come down?
Amidst tensions and terrors, thrills find no utility.
In the circus of existence, have I become a clown?
A tinge of pain and despair mingles with my loneliness.
Avalanches of aches fill and drill my physique and psyche.
I pray to Neptune, Najm, and Xama; crawl down in coolness.
Though well-drowned and dead in dread, I touch the fringes of Nike.
Each precipice venture is one's inner soul's exploration.
Midst the loss of self, there's divine identification.
upon this precipice of change
where all must succumb
hues of brown to orange to yellow
where limbs become bare
shadows dance in skeletons
once bodies in fullness stood
the air no longer needs temperament cooling
a cold wind dances in, destiny unafraid
and only the most hardy of those with wings
sing in the early morning stillness
feast at feeders, grow fewer in numbers
it is in this moment of seasonal beauty
my heart aches for a time
when all this landscape holds
is a war that rages among the transition
from ice to mud
i wait within most deepest
the breath of the robin's song
dancing joyously upon the lawn
when at last the inner eye
sees the blooms waiting in the sunrise
it is here my faith is deepest
where all the promises are kept
so i sit on this bench as time
calls the next season in
when change permeates all i see
the inner eye knows
all assurances are waiting
when life takes me past time
in my own war of mud-to-ice
i will be forever free
where blooms greet the sunrise
where the green sea turns a deeper blue
the morrow of no more sorrow glistens
Oregon 9/23
Young man on the threshold,
Which direction will you go?
Are you bound for glory,
Or is chaos now in tow?
Each decision that you make,
Molds the person you will be.
Will copassion be your oath,
Or is malice your decree?
When you reach the precipice,
You'll be perched upon a ledge.
As you face the ups and downs,
You will walk the razor's edge.
Let honor be your guide,
And integrity your goal.
Don't rely on foolish pride,
Or you'll pay a heavy toll.
After all your strides in life,
And your journey now complete.
Will you hang your head in shame,
Or stand proudly on your feet?
Nigeria is on the precipice
A country in dire need of redemption
Blessed extravagantly by providence
But ravaged ignorantly by
Leadership failure
Built on faulty foundation of
Impunity, corruption and nepotism
Which has engendered overtime
Inequality of crass proportion
As insignificant few
Swim in obscene opulence
While embarrassingly majority
Wallow in criminal poverty
Arise you men of good will
Silence is no longer golden
Arise wrestle our country back
From the spirit of live and let die
Arise my compatriots to the clarion call
To rescue God’s masterpiece
From total annihilation
Stand up and be counted
Together let us overcome
On the precipice of the unknown
Mankind stands today
Will we overcome our fears
To live a better way
Outer space is beckoning
For some who like to fly
Life is still a mystery
An island in the sky
Is our fascination with the fate
Of all mankind
An actual rejection
Of the future we designed
Or is the role of mystery
A quest for true perfection
The interplanetary way
To make a new connection
Are we left to worry
By the meaning of it all
Do we sit at home and cry
Or stand up when we fall
The precipice of the unknown
Is where I like to be
What is good about a brain
Without a mystery.
Written and submitted to the "Pick-a-Title, Vol 28" poetry contest
Sponsored by Edward Ibeh
On February 12, 2022
Standing at the precipice,
hanging by the skin of my teeth
with eyes brimming with tears,
I looked down into the murky abyss…
How often have I tried to unravel
what lies beyond the realm of mind?
Ethereal and graceful,
One of a kind
An all-knowing, all-encompassing
that only my heart knows better
where my soul finally belong.
O Death, calm my restless spirit
Deliver me from this despair,
Tell me, how long must I suffer
this feeling of anguish in my mind
before my soul to its abode depart?
I want to step my feet
where there’s no further to go.
A silent bolt of lightning
thunderously strikes my heart,
A flash of darkness sparkles
like an echo reverberating in
a brimming void wrapping me in
a swathe of emptiness this world cannot fill.
Consumed by fear driven by paranoia,
I raised my arms to embrace
this foreboding darkness and
plunge forward whispering,
Life, I bid you adieu.
~02/06/22
~Contest: Pick-A-Title Vol.28
~Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
Related Poems