Truth as one of many opinions
open to
debate
instead of truth
I offer a greater consolation:
dream
storyteller, monarch in a realm of imagination
it happened ten years ago
or might have been yesterday
details flounder
open to debate
instead of truth
I offer a greater consolation:
dream
storyteller, monarch in a realm of imagination
it happened ten years ago
or might have been yesterday
details flounder
It
happened that evening as it does tonight
Have you ever stood on a hill
wind on your back
dress flying up in front
hair in shambles
his hands around your waist?
What matters in the end is life
sand on dunes and beach
each grain a mirror
conflicting perceptions
truth is immaterial
Tell me where you are from
I don’t mean to pry
from far away?
it doesn’t matter
everyone is an outsider
sit down, please
join my circle of listeners
Story is like dance
it takes at least two people
and two actions—
telling and the listening
sometimes the roles are reversed
the giver becomes the taker
we both do the talking
we both listen
silences become loaded
tapestry takes shape
suggestive of dream
If I don’t make you comfortable
how can I expect you to listen
reality in my story
remains elusive
a matter of trust
mutual imagining
the story we make together
transforming memories
into mythology
like smoke in the air
On the high Wyoming Plane and
Wind River Range above it
I come in need of a tale
one eye on reality
the other fixed on fantasy
One day I intend to visit
more distant places like
Madagascar
the fields of Athenry
Angkor, Cambodia
Eclipse of the sun, 2024
I know a woman who has never seen an image with her eyes. But almost all her inspiration is what she
calls “visual” not contemplative. When I
tell her a story she sees it and her comments are visual. I have seen it and my comments are dream.
These pictures have little to do with my narrative. As a string of images they tell a parallel
story as pictures can: a walk on Caltech campus, snowy scenes in upstate New York,
a series of woven collages on the wall of a Montrose gallery.
Herman Melville wrote the novel, Moby Dick, based on the real
story of the Nantucket ship, Essex in 1820, rammed by a sperm whale and
sunk. He had an image and he had a dream—and
the truth was in there too.
See a map by Michael Angerman at Michael's Map And that’s the truth.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSometimes
Deletea story loses its way
and gets tangled.
Sometimes it chooses
a different path.
For your information, russkiGypsy said that this was a "found poem" taken from my words.
DeleteFinders Keepers, Alex. It's yours.
ReplyDeleteDearest Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI adore your narrative, photographs and dream. Lovely red-booties on sled dogs model human adaptation for frosty paws. Appreciate your tender embrace of a kindred spirit on the snow. Fritz would approve! Thank you for sharing the story and mystery. Kathy
Thanks, Kathy, for seeing two stories in parallel, like an embrace. Two mysteries—one Fritz understands, both understood with compassion by a poet.
DeleteWhen I read this I know I love you and miss you much. Your photos and words are inspiring.
ReplyDeleteMarlene, I wish we didn't have to miss each other so much. When will it end?
Deletelove, Sharon
Hello dear Sharon dreaming along with you in the snow I dream anew I hope to see you soon!! Love Kathabela
ReplyDeleteThis evening on zoom, as good as it gets. Kids in the next pandemic will do the dishes with virtual reality headsets on, doing poetry and climbing mountains at the same time.
DeleteThank you Sharon I so appreciate your visits to us on zoom. And your visioins of headset kids on the mountain. Those poets on Wednesday went wild. I know it was hard to climb and see their antics too! They were ready to write like crazy-- I think they did about 15 collabs in no time! I had all I could do to keep up with them myself!!
Deleteparallel stories
dream and the telling
we gather our souvenirs
found art for others to find
hope to see you soon!
love Kathabela
There are many ways to tell truths.
ReplyDeleteDelicate ways to tell them.
Immaterial ways to tell them.
Toti, I like the word immaterial as you apply it to "truth." So many things we apply to truth are really immaterial. We can tell truth without material facts, in delicate ways--yes.
ReplyDelete