Sunday 6 November 2011

dead still


dappled sunlight reignites air
delirium leaves seem to pleat
in the strident fall
in the tombstones
one can hear swish of impending storm

which shell emits piercing sound,
is that an omen?
why don't I see birds in the splendor of a cemetery?
shouldn't they be soothed as I am calmed by the dead still?

40 comments:

  1. Wonderfully ominous. Especially the question of where the birds are...

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  2. Wonderfully atmospheric piece..I wonder who Moore is..I love the red hues on the stone..the mystery and warmth in your writing..Jae

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  3. I can feel that post like wind on my skin........

    Nice.

    :)

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  4. A dark one. Very nicely wordled.

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  5. A feeling of foreboding comes over me reading your clever words.

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  6. I really like this different take on the way a cemetery can make you feel.

    And I really like lines about the birds.

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  7. Very spooky...why don't the birds sing? Great magpie!

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  8. what imagery and metaphors! nicely done as usual.
    thanks for your visit :)

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  9. Maybe the birds know something you don't.

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  10. A rather eerie feel, overall. Enjoyed your well-chosen thoughts and words.

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  11. When I was a horrible little boy I used to collect wild birds eggs in a cemetery. I think they are quiet out of respect, unlike me.

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  12. You have created an eerie feel with this...delirium leaves...impending storm... dead still...nice work

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  13. Good questions Gautami!! You made it a bit eerie too, gave me goose bumps!!

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  14. Love how you link it up with questions! I ended up doing something similar with thoughts.

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  15. Perhaps the birds don't find the same solace in our cemeteries because they are ours and not theirs.

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  16. Perhaps, if you return in Spring there will be birdsong. In the Autumn there might be just the odd tweet, otherwise the birds conserve their vigour for the Winter - and, of course many are on their way south.
    Even so, the sentiments in your poem are worthy.
    regards
    Harry

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  17. A real sense of mystery..I pause, and look behind me...very nice!

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  18. nice...i like all the questions as they bring to life what is happening in the pic...i too find solace among the dead...

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  19. Nicely done. I love the second line in the first stanza.

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  20. I like the last two lines and the sense of opposites, yet an analogy in each line.

    Paraphrasing:

    'splendour of a cemetry...
    calmed by the dead still'

    Really clever and creative.

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  21. What a "scary" one, but also it gives me the chills. Why don't birds sing on a cementery?
    They should sing for sure at that place to comfort them who have lost their beloved ones.

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  22. Calmed by the dead. It is an eerie thought but also very possible. Nice poem!

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  23. Now I want to go and photograph the birds mat a cemetery. This poem certainly has a mellow tone...

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  24. Thought provoking and a captivating write. :-)

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  25. You create such an atmosphere!! Great imagery, with an excellent ending.

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  26. I've never noticed the absence of birds before. Then again, I've not noticed their presence either. But there always seems to be a breeze when I'm at the cemetery. Feels like the dead are speaking.

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  27. a gathering of sorts indeed...

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  28. Neatly written. Well portrayed Gautami.

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  29. the birds are where the food is...

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