Emptiness has a way of holding a heavy weight within the places
of the heart
Like a sinker on a fishing lure
Taking broken men down broken roads
Where all the paved highways lead to every gravel path
It is there that they seek some kind of shelter
but loneliness rips through every room like fire
leaving behind only the silence of rubble in its wake
we lose ourselves in many ways
trying to hold up bridges that are not ours to cross
forgetting where we came from
we head to the same place that took our father so far away
lost is a place that
cannot be found on any map
we stumble upon it
blindly with empty hands
for all the mapped directions that lead to somewhere else
have long since been left in drawers full of other things we
never needed
I searched for you in the eyes of others
Wanting to never lose the memory of your smile
It was in that place of longing
Where loss plants the deepest roots
And no matter how high up the tree you climb
It is hard to see beyond that place
It took me years to discover that simple truth
Trying to find my way to you
I lost my own direction
Until I realized
You were already there
In the reflection of my own eyes.
©
Carrie Van Horn 2020
What an exquisite poem, Carrie! Painfully true of so many who learn all too late that the joy was in the journey not the destination. This bears reading again and again so as not to miss a single lovely turn of phrase!
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing. Such a concrete beginning and then...when it gets lost...magnificent. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a tribute this poem is, both to yourself for the journey undertaken, and for that person who became your light on the shore.
ReplyDeleteYour writer should have looked under the light first. Thats what I did in finding a place on your map to go to.
ReplyDeleteThis was fun, Carrie, thank you for the prompt. Also, I like to see how the prompter handled the prompt.
..
I had to go look up your final place as it was new to me.
DeleteNo wonde . I found "a mythological place and a metaphor for splendor and opulence under the name Xanadu,..."
Fooled me!!
..
"That place of longing where loss plants the deepest roots....." So perfectly said.
ReplyDeleteAs they say, not the journey, but the destination, and also, not the journey, but who goes with you on it...this is a path all too familiar, and the incremental build-up of tension as we follow it is finely drawn, reminding me of all the times I have spent learning ".. lost is a place that cannot be found on any map.."the darkness of that deep and tangled forest, those empty, fire-broken rooms...and the light at the end which comes with the grace of arrival. Lovely poem, Carrie, and one to which I can relate.
ReplyDelete"loneliness rips through every room like fire" -- Oooh! Excellent. And this wonderful opening: "Emptiness has a way of holding a heavy weight within the places of the heart" perfect.
ReplyDeleteOh the burden of emptiness too many of us must bear.
ReplyDeleteLet there be healing dear World
Happy Sunday Carrie
Much💝love
Absolutely stunning Carrie.
ReplyDeleteLife is about the journey of self discovery. Sometimes we can plot the coordinates and sometimes we run wild and lost, seeking the compass that will lead us home. So many
ReplyDeletewonderful lines Carrie.
ReplyDeleteThis is really good! I enjoyed the way you examined loss. True life lessons here, for sure. I especially liked - “ trying to hold up bridges that are not ours to cross” This was the story of my life until I was free. Exquisite. Will read again and again.
I am speechless at the exquisiteness of this poem. I have read it twice. The ending stands out in polishing the poem, but I also loved this line, “lost is a place that cannot be found on any map.”
ReplyDeleteYour poem is beautiful and wise and deep and thought-provoking .... and as Sara said, exquisite.
ReplyDelete