Monday, November 26, 2012

A short poem


In the detail, God hides.
Quiet and attentive we must be,
less we miss the splash
of a trout rising to the surface
the droplets of water suspended in air
for just a moment
and in the setting sun appear red,
like blood.

19 comments:

  1. sage, i am incredibly moved by this poem. i am moved by your attentiveness and i am broken open by the reality of the trout.

    the other day on a run i came across a dead possum. i stopped and considered it for quite a while. how incredibly complicated and whole it was despite its being dead, its death both irrelevant and absolutely and fundamentally relevant. its foot! its claws! its tiny jaw and jagged teeth! its perfect fur. and yet it would lie on the side of the road and over time decompose and be nothing but earth. possum. now, how in the hell is the possum even possible? how the trout? us? we damned well better be paying attention! ))))

    xo
    erin

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  2. God's beautiful world. Love this poem and the photograph - wow!

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  3. Nature is the language of the universe, Sage, and rewards attention --as does your excellent poem.

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  4. Paying attention is what we writers do -- for just this kind of poem.

    Lovely.

    Pearl

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  5. Nicely done Jeff. That 2nd line hit the nail smack on.

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  6. beautiful...and i agree with the sentiment on finding god in the little things we would miss if we were not attentive...

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  7. Perhaps all beauty and love is in the details, if we look closely enough.

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  8. Beautiful and real.. your words and the image.

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  9. Sage: I must agree with our friend, Hilary. Beautifully written with the photograph so perfect for what you express. Very nice!

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  10. (and again inside an error? - i read the first time through "I the detail god hides". it is a mystery how there is meaning all around and how meaning finds its way through the first mis-type and then through the re-write. very interesting))

    xo
    erin

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    Replies
    1. Erin, I pondered changing that for I had copied it out of my notebook (which begin IN) but I left out the "n" and before I realized it you had posted. I feel sorry that I may have misled you, but I also felt there was something mysterious about the line beginning with "I the details God hides" for somethings I think God may also hide inside us and we don't know it... The scene I describe (and the picture) came from a lake in the Quetico in Western Ontario--the red droplets of water reminding me of blood and in that a little of my orthodox theology comes through. Thanks for reading so carefully.

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  11. A most lovely poem, and the picture of you gazing into the marvelous blood red sunset- just brings it home even more. Your deepest feelings are like a revelation brought to light by just being in this special moment! You are a true poet!

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  12. Congrats on your post award. Glad I dropped by and enjoyed this poem.

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  13. Also, Sage, Congratulations on earning the POTW! Well deserved!

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  14. That's gorgeous. Words and photo.

    Funny I was just listening to the song "Vincent" by Don McLean last night. This kind of reminded me of that.

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  15. Sage, did you write this? It is so beautiful!

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