This house is warm with the scent of fire
Voices talk of yesterday in matchstick glow
And breathe out a thousand songs of tomorrow
In memory their eyes are way out to the horizon
Walking in silence as their lips recite forgotten poems
Beneath them green hillsides roll away to the sea
Down to the harbor where a ship is waiting
Sails ready to grab hold of a northern wind
And disappear beyond the edge of the world
Here burns a fire they’ve not yet forgotten
Robed in luxury they lie and reminisce
Of a world over the horizon, already fading
And so readies a new expedition
Longing for the sea and air without smoke
The sound of their destiny crashing all around
That place where a ship is waiting in the harbor
—
Sometime I wish I could go back in time to before human civilization, to see the earth as it was in its most pristine. Then again, I’d probably either be killed by a wild animal immediately or, being human, leave some kind of unnatural mark behind me and ruin the whole point of the thing. Or maybe I would never want to come back. Would you go?
—
Image by cocoparisienne from Pixabay
The Light is On 
15 responses to “A Thousand Songs”
Some people say that humans are a cancer on the face of the earth. Probably the world with its wildlife is better off without us. But there’s no reversing the reality. In a regression to the primitive I wouldn’t last long.
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No reversing reality, very true! And if it hadn’t happened the way it did, we wouldn’t be here to wonder about what if it hadn’t. This world has its pluses.
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Here in upstate New York, it’s hard to walk through the woods without tripping over an old stone wall. I often try to imagine how the things looked before when the walls were new, or before the people who built those walls arrived, or before the first people to push north as the ice receded saw it and on back through time before the ice age ground the ancient Adirondacks down to the low rounded hills they are now.
The ancient world would be a nice place to visit, but lonely.
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Sorry for taking so long to reply Tim. Your comment sums up my feelings perfectly. It would be amazing in the true sense of the word to see an untouched world. It’s strange to think about it when I live smack in the middle of a city.
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In short, no I’d not go. I’m reminded of a time, not long ago, when the average life span was about 45 for men. I like the view you painted, and I can enjoy it most anywhere I want.
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Fair enough! It’s true there are still unconquered places where nature reigns free, just need to go check those out!
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We’re all busy, especially this time of year when time seems to have accelerated. Speaking of time, stay tuned.
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To stand alone – sure why not – it is the experience of God as Always – something you are interested in 🙂
Your poem is interested in unity, supposed to happen prophecy, attachment and re-birth.
Have a nice eve, good to understand something with you aware to interest span.
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It’s always difficult to choose a favorite line or phrase, as your poems are a full banquet, but…this is my pick: “Walking in silence as their lips recite forgotten poems”. This would make a beautiful tombstone engraving–just change “their” to his or her…. I like it so much, I think it will fit into my novel, or the sequel.. I need a new notebook for all the great stuff I’ll be “borrowing” from you (and crediting you on the acknowledgments page).
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Thank you (: can’t wait to read your novel when it’s finished!
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🙂
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Really great poetry.
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Beautiful poem, Mitchel and I too will agree with you to go back and see an amazing world where there is no destruction and we are living happily and our Mother Earth is rejoicing in all her natural beauty. But we as humans have destroyed life and who knows what will happen next. We have to keep faith and trust in God who knows best.
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‘This house is warm with the scent of fire’ and it’s in that house that I wish to stay. I do tend to get romanticized with nature until the bugs begin to bite and the cold wind swoops down from the north…..though there is nothing like a walk in the woods in Fall and Winter…bug free.
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Agreed, the best walks are through evenings in the cold seasons, with a warm place to curl up after they’re done.
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