Heaven, Earth, and Man.
Three tablets side by side.
Or do they form a ladder each to each?
And is the top too high for me to reach?
How shall I on these tablets write my name?
Man
With who and what I am?
With what I do for them?
With the loves that I will leave?
With the losses they will grieve,
Or with fellows I forsake?
Earth
With deeds that I have done?
With the battles I have won?
With the promises I keep?
With furrows long and deep,
Or with scratches left in dust?
Heaven
With bread that has been broken?
With the prayers that I have spoken?
With the blood that has been shed?
With the rising from the dead,
Or with disappearing ink?
Three tablets side by side
Or laddered each to each.
How will I there inscribe?
How will I span the breach?
I love this. There's so much in there - I'll have to come back & read it again.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading a book about the Bible (The Good Book by Peter Gomes)& the author sort of addresses the conundrum of people & places & this written word. An eternal conundrum, isn't it?
Me thinks it be the earth itself that bridges the divide and spans the distance between man and the heavens. we leave a mark upon her and depending on the truth of the mark we find the shorter or longer span to cross from the physical to the eternal.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done, and I love the tight rhyme and stanzaic form. Resonant, to me, of a Mystery Play and language aside, definitely something of the medieval mindset in it.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing... and Titus is right, it sounds like a mystery play. (The image you chose helps with that too.) There's lots of symmetry that is sneaking along beneath the surface...
ReplyDeleteyou have greatly chosen an inspriring photo to accompany this clver poem.
ReplyDeletei hope for the 'ladder to each' version. :)
Well, I'm joining the chorus: "Mystery Play" was my first thought - partly, i agree with Joseph, on account of the image, which intrigued me from the beginning. It's a fascinating post, no doubt about it, and very thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem, Karen. Like a word puzzle, a spoken word, a holy recitation, echoing the mystery of life.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and depthful response to this prompt. I love the question posed in the last line!
ReplyDelete-So many questions make a poem that seems like a serial story, as though you may need to come back to it, write the answers.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the philosophical, questioning nature of this poem!
ReplyDeleteA meditation that results in a heartfelt prayer. Love how you used the rhyme and the tightness of the structure to mimic that ladder and the rungs to be climbed.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
A beautiful poem, full of the many unanswered questions. Nicely done to prompt.
ReplyDeletePamela
So many layers...
ReplyDeleteransom
so much going on here indeed.....all good...thanks for this
ReplyDeleteK
ReplyDeletewell, there better be a God tablet or I think
it will all fail
one is proven to fail
one is beyond our control
and the last beyond our reach
eat drink and be merry
for tomorrow we die
lovely write again, you
~rick
Beautiful poem! Love it :)
ReplyDeleteMotivational Poems