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.

17 comments:

dustus said...

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

Celestial Dreamz said...

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

Claudia said...

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

Unknown said...

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

Kodjo Deynoo said...

I like the notion drawn here

Brian Miller said...

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

Rosa said...

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

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Your words blend well with the photo- nicely done!

Louise Gallagher said...

Nice. REally provocative.

Unknown said...

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!

Anonymous said...

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

Your words fit the photograph well.

Maureen said...

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

S and J said...

nothing extraneous, nothing wasted. Love it

Reflections said...

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.

Penny said...

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

John (@bookdreamer) said...

Nice pivotal switch in perspective and voice

S. Etole said...

or perhaps the eyes say it all ....