Journey to Ixtlan

The poem “Another Tick” is about the struggle to make a lasting impact on the world.


Another Tick

Another tick proceeds a tock
racing round the wakeful clock
even when I choose to sleep
the circles spun round again

gears within a quaint machine
given weight by fevered dreams
desiring high majesty
from a serf’s fantasy

moving from the here to there
going somewhere inside a maze
nowhere as a destiny
the greatest fear one may face

there must be a way to dare
affirmation of consequence
to the way I spend my time
that constant shuffle of mortal coil

some impact on the world
to account the time spent
serving either holy realms
or promoting hell on earth

an account to be had
against the years or seconds held
in the hands that juggle time
another tick proceeding tock.

© 2018. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20180626.

People enter our lives in different ways. Those meant to stay follow a path much like that of a skipping rock. The first encounter is followed by a second. Others follow, the time between each becoming smaller. Relationships are formed to manage the developing situation. Ultimately the “skipping” ends, and the two form a lasting bond. The timing of this can vary from person to person. The physics of relationships is incredibly complex. The poem “Rock and Water” examines the meeting of people through the lens of the skipping rock analogy.


Rock and Water
Poem for Day 163 – 20150612

Thrown from an unknown distance,
somewhere in time and space,
the rocks meets the first encounter
on the surface of another's space.

First contact met with a splash,
ripples in life project out,
and then the rock leaves again
skyward on a separate path.

Another encounter between the two,
another skip of encounter brief.
The beginning of pattern is set in motion,
above and below are destined to meet

The interval of impact cut in half,
the next by that much, again and again.
A series of bounces of rock and water,
coming more quickly as velocity falters.

The fateful moment is fast approaching,
the separation may no longer persist.
And then what was meant to be happens,
rock settles to water and the two are merged.

The sky left behind, the connection constant.
Two have become one below the surface.
An ending begins the rest of our lives,
rock one with water, surface left behind.

This is my life with those around me,
roles exchanged as rock and water.
Bouncing and sinking, moving and dancing,
so many souls skipping and meeting.

© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved

I have blogged for a number of years. This has left me with a store house of material to draw from as I pursue my poetry. This seems to be a boon, but the challenge arises from the structural differences between commentaries and poetry. The poem “World Calamitous” reaches back to a blog that began with the sentence “I don't have the answer to why bad things happen to good people. I am convinced that life can go on beyond these seemingly fated points. Choice is alive and well in the aftermath of philosophical Gordian knots.”. I feel that the poem does the topic justice, and I look forward to “translating” more of my past commentaries.


World Calamitous
Poem for Day 008 – 20150108

I was at the wrong place,
at the right time,
and stuff happened
that I do not like.
Why do things happen
to people like me?
What has life
contrived to be so mean?

Religion says I am tested,
my fervor duly measured.
Others say that fate is to blame,
and I am a victim of steps misplaced.
Perhaps it is karma,
the world's response
to the actions of my past
brought full circle to the present.

The universe is unfair,
beyond comprehension,
and we play our part
in this drama as it unfolds.
The vagueness of it all,
mystery wrapped in enigma,
is the puzzle of life
lived by you and me.

I shake my fist at God,
How dare you I say,
and deity echoes back
the rage that I had flung.
I cannot understand,
the repeated words report,
but I can respond wisely
to the arrows and slings.

Life has given you lemons: make lemonade.
Sour fruits can bestow
refreshment appreciated with satisfaction.
The key is interpretation and reaction,
(again paraphrasing the Bard)
to a sea of troubles
and the arrows of outrageous fortune.

Make a choice, do it now,
and life will go on,
the fates be damned
for their fickle plans.
The moment operational,
with choices taken and merged,
in a response that has meaning
in a world most calamitous.

© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved.

One of the neat things about playing with DeviantArt is that I find some past gems in the old pics. This is an example of one...


Don't Mess with Destiny by *greensh on deviantART