Sunday, May 1, 2011

The Desert Teaches


The desert teaches
a man to consider
a question as if
Socrates asked,
a request as if
a penitent submitted,
a plea as if
a drowning man begged.
I speak no word,
I make no motion,
I offer no riddle.
Find what you seek
by reading my lips.

This poem is submitted for One Shot Sunday, hosted by One Stop Poetry. To see other poems and read the interview with photographer Rosa Frei, please visit the site.

Photograph by Rosa Frei for One Stop Poetry. Used with permission.
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17 comments:

  1. dustusMay 1, 2011 at 12:34 AM

    The whole poem from questioning, to penitence, pleas for life... reminds me of Dostoevsky (who was on "death row")... "Once you speak you cease to be a philosopher." The final two lines are powerfully concise and fit the image incredibly well. Thanks, Glynn

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  2. Celestial DreamzMay 1, 2011 at 12:51 AM

    a sublime write. visiting your blog is an enlightening experience. all the best.

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  3. ClaudiaMay 1, 2011 at 2:56 AM

    oh glynn - i really like this one...the desert teaches us lots of things by its emptiness and forcing us to concentrate on the surrounding silence...love the whole piece but esp. the last two lines...beautiful

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  4. UnknownMay 1, 2011 at 3:50 AM

    nice I think it also gives a sense of mystery ..thank you

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  5. Kodjo DeynooMay 1, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    I like the notion drawn here

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  6. Brian MillerMay 1, 2011 at 6:56 AM

    hehe so you want me to show them to you, well now there is the conundrum....i thoroughly enjoyed this glynn

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  7. RosaMay 1, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    Wonderful words! Thank you so much to flatter my image with your poem! Really love it!

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  8. Coloring Outside the LinesMay 1, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    Your words blend well with the photo- nicely done!

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  9. Louise GallagherMay 1, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    Nice. REally provocative.

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  10. UnknownMay 1, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    Worth contemplating, though I suppose I'd be lost in the sands if I did. Here's to exhausting ourselves in the deserts of enigmas. :D

    Excellent!

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  11. AnonymousMay 1, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    Shrouded in mystery, taunting the mind to explore further...

    Your words fit the photograph well.

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  12. MaureenMay 1, 2011 at 11:04 AM

    Excellent poem, Glynn. I like how you move from third to first person and keep this extremely tightly written.

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  13. S and JMay 1, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    nothing extraneous, nothing wasted. Love it

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  14. ReflectionsMay 1, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    Within a shroud of mystery, you taunt the reader to try, to glimpse the mysteries of time, a give and take answer left to be unriddled.

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  15. PennyMay 1, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    Excellent. Your words really echo the picture, or vice-versa...

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  16. John (@bookdreamer)May 1, 2011 at 1:10 PM

    Nice pivotal switch in perspective and voice

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  17. S. EtoleMay 1, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    or perhaps the eyes say it all ....

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