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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Memory (07/10/08)
Whispered Psalms and Tendrils of Hope



I’m alone once again. And once again I lose count of the days, the hours and the minutes…

They don’t matter any more.

Time is interminable.

My futile efforts to fill the void, send me foraying into a plethora of memories.

Rummaging through school days, college years

Adolescent joys and tears

They flash across the mental screen, I will them to stay….

Just a while so I am not alone.

Vainly I try to hold a wave upon the sand, sadly I relinquish the moonbeam in my hand.

And it begins to rain.

The rhythm of the falling rain beats a haunting tattoo

That recalls vivid memories of other rainy days.

Evoking the sweetness followed by pain

That slowly gives way to a numbness.

I don’t want to feel

Happiness, sorrow, misery or pain.

I don’t want to remember….

Good days or bad days , grey days or wet days

I block out the past and stare out of the window.

Something stirs within.

I fight against myself…a losing battle this

For the dark skies and falling rain call out to me and I cannot resist.

I must yield. I can’t be immune to it.

The memories flood back like the overflowing drains……

Gurgling, rushing, uninterrupted

Washing away the dirt, dust and debris.

Leaving in its wake quiet , calm, peacefulness.

And I lay my head down exhausted.

Too tired from the roller-coaster ride of emotions……

The upswings and downswings.

Somewhere clouds clash streaking the skies, breaking the silence with its thunder.

The flood-gates open to the release…

And I drown in a deluge of tears.

Years of conditioning in convention and orthodoxy

Make me look for purpose and divine reason to every twist and turn in life.

The purpose is found, the reason justified

By theological philosophies I pretend to understand.

I try to be stoical in the face of it,

Wondering what else is expected of me.

The outer walls I build around me

Of hard cold reasoning and hollow sounding platitudes, harden and thicken while

Hidden inside the crumbling begins.

Broken and battered I cower inside the fortress

Suspicious and scared of every shadow,

Of which there are many

Some real , rest imagined.

And life goes on drawing hope from whispered Psalms…

Hope like a frail tendril clings to straws.

And I lift up my eyes and thank God
For things could have been worse, but for His grace.
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This article has been read 878 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Dee Yoder
07/18/08
You've well-expressed through your poem the many times in life that memories can come back to us-either to comfort or to bring pain. But the one thing that remains steadfast and true is our reliance on His word and His hope to bring a new day and a new start.
Marlene Austin
07/19/08
Somber poem, sets the mood strongly. So glad to read the up-lifting ending. Well-written. :)
Dolores Stohler 
07/20/08
This is a lovely poem, so many lines to enjoy and treasure. I'm copying it into my favs. Well done!
LINDA GERMAIN 
07/22/08
Wow! This is excellent and seems to be written from heartfelt experience. I can see you are not new to expressing yourself with words. This is a higher level writing for sure. Good job~
Tim Pickl
07/26/08
As I read your poem, it's like I'm standing on the beach...and each line is like a wave, of time, of memory.
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