New Poem – the heavy weight…
Posted on May 16, 2016 in Blog feature, Recent Writing | 99 comments
The heavy weight of history
Directly abuts
The promise of tomorrow.
Come what may though,
Even spears, as they will…
I cannot help
But be laid bare.
For mine’s a quest,
As yet unabandoned,
To be pure.
And all the while,
Being led that way too,
While the rarest of promises
Still cavort in my soul.
Just as it was at
The very beginning,
Whether pierced by joy
Or fear,
My own wounds to date
Focal points of emotion,
Now glowing red raw again.
Enduring transmissions,
Without which
One would surely have to
Start over again,
Without any narrative of hope,
Nor glimpse of heaven
Or twist of pain.
I think heavy weight is both physical, mental and even spiritual. Angels can fly because they are very light. I can not run because I am over weight. Very meaningful and insightful.
Beautiful Scott. “My own wounds to date Focal points of emotion, Now glowing red raw again”. History brought forward to the present, similar occurrences even as they were in the past. “Enduring transmissions”. Nice choice of words Scott; a continuous repetition of the past over and over again. Really “The Heavyweight”. I love this
Don’t grok it but I like it! Strange?
Past-present and future
A perfect circle unbroken dear friend
just keep it by your poem
“The heavy weight of history
Directly abuts
The promise of tomorrow.”THANKS
I feel you once again. Well done. I would love to know when your next book is published. Ty
I think even weighted by history, confirmed in transmission, we have to feel some hope, some light to seek… we simply must. Lovely words Scott.
History as well as life changes and we either accept to live with it or we grow numb. People suffer losses throughout life and some until it’s chafed from repeating. It’s part of the process my friend. Great write!
May your quest always be unabandoned
Greetings Scott
another tremendous display of artful, elegant verse. there are some highlights which cannot be duplicated. the first line demonstrates the possibilities. it continues red raw as sweetness of fire. there is a physical beauty to this as well as spiritual awareness. the title reminds me of a boxer. it was not the first intent. getting atuned with Nature. congratulations. you have captured a delicate harmony of emotions + mythology.
Beautifully written with verve and poignancy. Thoughts so eloquently expressed! Thank you Scott so very much for sharing!
Scott, I have always admired your work–but I see even more strength and craft in your poetry. Not JUST craft for craft’s sake, but craft that takes the reader on a journey, sometimes painful, sometimes hopeful. Your feelings/thoughts are full of doubt and clarity at the same time. I am a great fan of paradox. So glad you are with us and writing in the world!
“Whether pierced by joy
Or fear,
My own wounds to date
Focal points of emotion,
Now glowing red raw again.”
And such as it is, there in an inevitability to it all, whether we are privy to outcomes or more typically a clueless actor.
It is a beautiful piece.
I love your poems…
Wonderful!
Beautiful ! Thank you
Wow!
I love the combination of spears toward the beginning with the ending of glimpse of heaven, twist of pain, juxtaposition. 😉
“My own wounds to date
Focal points of emotion,
Now glowing red raw again.”
I love the imagery of a wound as a second heart,
as the birth source of compassion—where we begin
our journey with but hope folded in a jacket pocket.
A masterpiece, as usual. This poem is not to be commented on lightly, for it encompasses the whole history -and tragedy- of mankind. I need to think about it, especially about what the narrative does to us and about how sensitive souls will not forego the quest regardless. What you say with an astounding economy of words would take a novelist several hundred pages. Will be back.
The imagery in this poem is vivid.
the part that stands out to me is:
‘My own wounds to date
Focal points of emotion,
Now glowing red raw again”
Your poem is wonderful.
For mine’s a quest
As yet unabandoned
To be pure
Beautiful stanza! Engaging poem from you Scott – one that inspires us to remain positive despite the burden of history. Your words keep hope a constant…all the bad, the worse, the ugly shall pass but rich optimism will always grace our minds and hearts. Thank you for this lovely luminosity in your work!
Very philosophic. The weight of not only history leans on “the promise of tomorrow” but the weight of of all our deeds and thoughts and plans also leans on the “promise of tomorrow.”
Sadly history instead of teaching us lessons appears to do the opposite. Poets clearly have great insight and can see the flaws of civilization and hopefully this may one day be a guide to a brighter future. Let your words continue to shout out loud Scott.
I like the realism of this combined with its hope very much.
Your closing stanza has extra impact, Scott. I love that the joy of the quest is still strong in you. That is a very cool photo, no pun intended, LOL.
As usual, I like this very much…
I posted your pic on FB as my favorite contemporary American poet.
I read the poem and I think it sounds different from what you’ve shared so far.
In my opinion,the last part of your poem is an invitation to patience and belief in one’s own abilities:
Enduring transmissions,
Without which,
One would surely have to
Start over again,
Without any narrative of hope,
Nor glimpse of heaven
or twist of pain.
Your advice was short and sweet. Indeed there is a trace of humanity in all what you so beautifully write.
I enjoy your work, so you’ll see me around.
Seriously I’ve tried to comprehend your new poem and came out with a question mark? I’ve comprehended much of it but not enough to tie in your complete meaning. Since I have other personal issues to attend to, I feel that I should give it a couple more readings in my own timeframe. And yes, the parts I’ve absorbed have both ingenuity and a strong message.
Bong! Bong! Bong!
Very hopeful,inspirational and encouraging
We are more than our story-this is beautifully expressed.
Excellent from start to finish. Nice job 🙂 Thanks for it 🙂
Nice, Great Literary Sir ! To keep it Real, is the Sign of a True Heavyweight !
Why do they do what they do I don’t understand it. I’m going to learn…
Being laid open and allowing vulnerability permits change to oneself
and to the events that follow. Embracing hope through whatever history
there may be is of lasting significance.
Lovely Poem… Well done
This poem reads a little differently than most, albeit just as deep and thought provoking. Many layers in few words which both warn and promise. These words have attached themselves to me and my own situation.
Sometimes I think you write just about me, as do so many of your friends and fans. What a great tribute to a poet of integrity and honor, yet humble – hidden under armour so easily dented by reality.
“What is most personal is most universal” (Carl Rogers). Thank you, Scott.
This reminds me of my flashbacks initially from childhood, but even those change over time and become less traumatic as we change and grow spiritually. I like your poem.
Fine words once again Scott. ‘Narrative of hope’ through your words would seem your unabated reason for being.
Here they come, pouring out of the blue
Little arrows for me and for you (Leapy Lee)
Burnin’ hot…oh you don’t feel the same (Foreigner)
(Those two songs came to memory from your poem)
Sorry…I have a song brain and everything that was before
actually remains the same.
Expression of our angst or our will
Is much the same as going in for the kill
But it’s better than gathering moss
And I know I can’t write quite like Frost!
Lovely! I always enjoy your poems. Thanks for sharing.
Nice. Bravo.
Love the realism in this magnificent poem 😀
Lots of love,
Sanaa
This has the weight, the gravitas of truth. Enjoyed.
Most of history can be poison on hope and dreams. But thank goodness for the better bits, the ones forged by women and men who remind us that we can do better, expect better and even more.
Powerful. And true.
I loved reading your piece!
Very observant and full of insight, Scott! Another fine work here!
I specially like the opening line: that heavy weight of history ~ And we certainly carry it, raw or perhaps to start again ~ Thanks for this Scottie ~
An interest piece of poetry, which I need more time, for the words, to truly sink in. Not my usual style of verse, must admit.
Lovely piece! I enjoyed it 🙂
I really like the suggestion of just being led, pushed as if you don’t have a choice. Entrapped and yet free from it at the same time. Very interesting.
My own wounds to date
Focal points of emotion,
Now glowing red raw again…
The weight of history does press against old wounds and make them the focus of pain again.. beautifully put!
A very thought provoking piece. Each stanza made me dig deep into my own interpretation which I enjoyed very much.
Ah the history that abuts the present — a thought provoking piece.
Love the opening of this. History is a heavy weight, but the future is a light promise. What are we doing today that turns yesterday’s promise into tomorrow’s burden?
Creative and beautifully written. Very nicely-worded and simple. Love your poetry!
LIFe.. a continuing practice
oF liGht that must be
fiercely hELd bRiGht..
less the dArk
overwhelm
what was once
and or first noW
LiGht.. and Now the
dArk.. too.. a pLace
of continuous practice
that must be changed one
step at a day to reach liGht
for the last or first now too..:)
The weight is certainly felt here.
Great piece of work. Powerful strength comes from verses like this. This weight is no burden but a force of life to overcome all struggles. Excellent poem as always Scott. I love it.
It sounds like you are on quite a worthy journey, Scott — ‘a quest to be pure.’ Love the photo which expresses so well the poem’s theme (for me anyway).
“Start over again,
Without any narrative of hope,
Nor glimpse of heaven
Or twist of pain.”
These line i ponder with you; and in the process of your starting over again, you have the power to name your path:
From me i offer, Let there be Wisdom
Let there be joy
Have a great Sunday Scott
Much Love…
But what is the definition of purity?
To start completely afresh would be to lose the lessons we may have learnt.. in some instances that wouldn’t be so much losing weight but losing substance – love the photo also – full of optimism..
Scott this was wonderful…I especially liked….
‘My own wounds to date
Focal points of emotion,
Now glowing red raw again.’
This really touched me. Without those wounds we would not be who we are.
Back again… The lines that most struck me are “for mine’s a quest, as yet unabandoned, to be pure.” I love that.
Very nice journey in this piece, excellent writing!
Wonderful to have the goal of being pure. Our tomorrow’s need to have such hope even if history weighs tham down. Lovely writing Scott. Love the picture.
Enduring transmissions,
Without which
One would surely have to
Start over again
There has to be cues to the things one desires. It certainly helps prompt for ideas to come falling in. Rightly so Scott!
Hank
It is a full circle, is it not. Beautiful capture!
Wise and honest lines…
Gosh! is that you barefoot on the ice? Shows a tough resolve. Your poem tackles some difficult existential questions head on.
Scott, you’re looking good!
Enjoyed reading your well-crafted poem. 🙂
This unfolds beautifully Scott–the weight of wounds unfolding themselves in our souls–I love your work
Really got hooked by your opening lines. Reread them several times before continuing. Then circled back after finishing. Beautifully stated,
Elizabeth
History and hope – two concepts that seem to be at odds with each other … more and more, these cruel days. We may live in a global village but, sadly, the more we learn of our histories, the more we seem to become mired in it – the promise of tomorrow, less promising for humankind, with the passage of each day.
This is a lovely poem, precise in meaning, pithy and eloquent.
Witness the lines:
Enduring transmissions,
Without which
One would surely have to
Start over again,
Without any narrative of hope,
Nor glimpse of heaven
Or twist of pain.
Well done.
A wonderful narrative. Thank you Scott.
Scott it’s a pleasure to read your work. Poetry is life…
Wow! Such powerful emotions and bone-chilling imageries especially ” Focal points of emotion,Now glowing red raw again” … You never fail to amaze us with your words which are so packed with a bubbling cauldron of emotions. A truly gifted poet, Scott is indeed very veracious illustrating how life encounters situation filled with inevitable pain and melancholy that one has to endure yet we need to start over again even though hope is seemingly absent- there is no better and beautiful way of summing up life than what our lovely Scott has.
One would surely have to
Start over again,
Without any narrative of hope,
Nor glimpse of heaven
Or twist of pain.
Your positive words demonstrate an inspirational way of living a life in such a short piece of writing. I read your poems time and again…. How beautifully you take words in your mind and express them on paper. It’s no easy task to write something so powerful.
I love to write and its has been my passion. I am therefore doubly blessed to have found you as God in human form. You have really won the heart of many readers. You mean a lot to me…. With Best Wishes
It seems you have a lot of astute and enthusiastic supporters. The response to your poetry is truly impressive and that must mean you strike the universal chord. I read this and visualized Muhammad Ali in the ring fighting off the spears and piercings of history all the while maintaining his quest for the pure. My first impression is that your work is elegant and beautifully crafted. On also reading ‘as we spin and toil’ I was also deeply impressed by your use of the cliché ‘ …it is what it is’. Brilliant
Punching well above your weight class scott. Congrats
Cheers Scott!
I really enjoyed this.
Barefoot in the snow my friend?whaooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice to meet your poetry. I think your latest poem is really beautiful.
I like ‘the heavy weight’ It has a universal feel with a timeless quality that seems as valid today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.
Thank you so much Scott for sharing. You’re awesome
Thank you Scott… Very nice speaks of a painful history and perhaps regret.
Scott, this speaks to me of biblical teachings and really quite remarkably so. Beautiful your words…always.
Warmest regards,
Don
Hi Scottie, sorry so late in viewing this but I think you can understand why. Although life never seems to get better yet as your poem states so well, hope abounds. Where would we be without it? Your last lines sum life up so well and the tremulous journey we all travel:
“Enduring transmissions,
Without which
One would surely have to
Start over again,
Without any narrative of hope,
Nor glimpse of heaven
Or twist of pain.”
History, whether painful or not, has helped make us. Somehow, it is good to know that we have connections across time. How sad it will be to lose the reference point given by our past.
Beautiful and thought provoking poem.
Yes, indeed a beautiful poem. “The promise of tomorrow, embracing the very beginning ” So simple, very powerful.
Great poem and I love it when I am challenged with new word or words namely cavort. Thanks for this I enjoyed the poem and the searching up of the word Cavort. Now I know a new word to cavort with. 🙂
Had hoped your poem was about Pamukkale. Wondrous place. I was there in the fall of ’62. One of those things one does not forget: out of the sliding glass doors of the hotel room, and into the warm, champagne-like waters, swimming right up to the edge of the cliffs, looking out over the valley. Then early Sunday morning, a camel train wending its way along the base of the foothills behind us, through the ruins of Hierapolis… the Roman amphitheater nearby. The heavy weight of history… spears as it wills, the quest never abandoned… pierced by joy or wounds… focal points, transitions… glimpses of heaven, always the twists of pain.
The native English idiom comes to shine, brightening up the telling.