Dear Ioskeha

Do you think this is a metaphor?

I heard your song waft through the trees,

A solar flare so near.

Your perfect voice was all the noise

I cared just then to hear.

 

A higher sound than birdsong?

I knew not that it could be.

I said, behold, a miracle:

A hymn composed for me!

 

You found me on a two-way street

And asked which path I’d take.

Could I see your face? Could I change my ways?

Was I capable of faith?

 

You told me of a world at war-

A planet full of conq’ring men

Who’d industrialized your mountainside.

Was I with you or one of them?

 

You reached your hand out to me,

Asking, could I make the choice?

With nary a glance at the world of man,

I elect to chase your voice.

 

The people stared as I passed by,

Asking, what’s become of him?

Has he lost his mind? Betrayed his kind?

With us or one of them?

 

I gave them not a second thought

As I closely followed you.

Your spirit’s light became my guide

When the road did fork in two.

 

Onward, down, I followed you,

A thousand yards or more.

And with each pace, so grew my haste

To see what lie in store.

 

At last arriving at the place,

You asked if I was strong.

Could I be tried and still survive?

Win battles hard and long?

 

I wanted greatly to say yes,

But you asked I jump with you

Down a cliff so sheer, my mortal fear

Said, that I cannot do.

 

Your disappointment rippled then

Through the air- it changed the winds.

The path we’d walked had been for naught,

For you could not let me in.

 

I was not the one you sought,

Who could leave his life behind.

Who could cut all ties, see through new eyes,

And reject all humankind.

 

But still, a bond had formed that day

That I could not bear to kill.

I was not your son or chosen one,

But I yearned to see you still.

 

Relenting to my passioned pleas,

You led me somewhere new.

A sacred glade, a hideaway

Where at last I could see you.

 

I expected some great thunderstorm,

Or brilliant flash of light,

But you did not use such brutish tools

To attract my wand’ring sight.

 

I heard you in the winds above.

I saw you in the trees.

Though you were great, I was not afraid,

Nor fell I to my knees.

 

Personal but elemental,

I swore I knew you then.

I did not see a deity-

Instead, my dearest friend.

 

Our communion filled me fully

As time eroded and unfurled.

I found that day, in your hideaway,

More wealth than all the world.

 

Although, as time wore on

There came a sinking deep within.

This thing sublime could not be mine,

For I still was one of them.

 

I asked if I could choose again,

But you said, to my dismay,

A second chance to do this dance

Would not be mine that day.

 

As I left, I asked that you return

Someday to my side.

You said my fate could always change,

But for now, this was goodbye.

 

I live again apart from you,

Among the conquerors.

But I scan the skies to glimpse your eyes

When the wind makes water stir.

 

I feel you when the branches wave,

When the breeze does kiss my skin.

And still I pray, despite my ways,

You’ll be my god or friend.

 

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I see this metaphorically...the friend representing one who turns away from riches and modernization with machines replacing humans....I see a bit of Thoreau here...come live with me and nature and we will rough it....live life off the land....away from what everyone else is striving for...asked to make that decision, some just cannot leave the security of a life of ownership, of material things.
quite sad that is.
even though the subject respects the speaker and looks up to him...the speaker just cannot make that jump.
I really like this piece,
j.

[Earthrise]

Thanks for stopping by, Jacob. Thoreau was definitely a big influence on the philosophy that led to this piece, as was Walt Whitman. When we're close to nature, it's easy to long for what was lost, but hard to do anything about it. As always, thank you for your kind review.

[Aura]

Such a beautifully written poem. Could we risk everything for something or someone? Forget our way of living, our family and friends? And what if a risk is too big to take, would we still take it for the sake of a relationship? Your poem conveys these thoughts where the narrator abandons their way of living, yet the risk they had to take, they couldn't go through with it and unfortunately this relationship has to end. But one day, it will form again, perhaps a different type of relationship as defined in the last line "God or a friend". A thoughtful poem this was, thanks for sharing! If I may ask, who or what is Ioskeha?

[Earthrise]

Thanks for taking the time to read my piece! And thanks for your kind words. Your interpretation of it is similar to others I've gotten, which is interesting. To answer your question, this poem is more literal than it may seem. It describes a spiritual experience I had not long ago. Ioskeha is just a name, really. A name I chose to help me put the experience into words.

Again, thank you for taking the time to read and comment on it. This is a personal piece, and I know it's long. It's good to know others appreciate it.

[Aura]

You are welcome! I never heard the name Ioskeha before, it is unique.