Sanctuary

A ghostly encounter, or a stolen moment with my inner child? you decide.

 

I went for a walk in afternoon’s light,

Meandering through misty, green meadows,

In the untamed countryside of my mind’s eye.

The scent of lavender filled each breath,

Along the path to my sanctuary.

As I made my way through the maze;

 Moss-covered stones of granite and marble

 

I drank in the tranquility, feeling at ease.

 

Memorials of every imaginable taste,

Misshapen and askew

In grounds, rarely tended

Crosses, angels and obelisks,

Engravings of which illegible,

Weathered away by a century or more

Of time and cleansing rains

Each soul interred, thereby given

A new, blank slate, as their

Vessels withered with the rock;

 Giving way to the cycle

That began with one final,

Shuddering breath.

 

Some, entombed in such small, young graves;

Yet, barely distinguishable from the others

Children, whose joyous laughter was cut short

By the plague of this, the human condition.

The frailty of life, on each, took its toll.

No one left living to remember

Their smiles, their innocence.

Stories, long forgotten,

Slumbering, peacefully beneath the

Tall grass and weeds.

As I sit alongside

This decaying mausoleum,

I hear faint whispers;

Tiny voices

Beckoning from beyond,

 

“Come play with me…”

 

I drift to dreams and

The child within emerges,

Frolicking gleefully without fear or care.

At last finding that place of

Hiding, so cleverly secret

The winner of our game.

I awaken and leave this

 Sanctuary of freedom,

Bound for home and reality

Yet the child's whispers linger,

And beckon once more,

“Come play with me…”

 

Author's Note

I was just playing with imagery and metaphors. The photo for this piece is my own. Concrit is welcome, as always. Don't just say what you think I want to hear, PLEASE.

Reviews

[Lizanne]

This is a beautiful piece of poetry that one reads and pause to think about the subject. Although it takes place in a graveyard, it is not about the dead so much as the revival of your own spirit. You are there but the mind's eye is opened to another diminsion, where you travel to your own private sanctuary of peace and contentment. A brilliant and wise writing. Keep the ink of your poetic pen flowing.

[HeyJadeXO]

You seem to have deep insight with your words.Very lovely

[Q'ANIL]

this piece is such a haunting and an amazing write it actually chills the reader as they wander through the lines to be struck by: "Come play with me..." i could almost hear those words echoing in the darkness behind me...wow scaring myself...seriously though that ending was brilliant...up there with the likes of Poe's "The Raven" i'd say...

"and my soul shall be lifted
nevermore."

~CJM

[MalkavianDelirium]

Wow. Beautiful, haunting and effective. From the beginning where we have no idea where you're going, only the notion of sanctuary, then syncing in with the imagery of a graveyard. Really phenomenal. The idea of a graveyard being frequented by the living and the dead, the child that might not really be there, conjures for me images of "The Graveyard Book".

Stunning.

[Honeypot]

This has a dreamlike quality to it. I picture her walking through the morning fog and there's a freshness to the air. The atmosphere prevents her from being terrified when she comes to the cemetary. Its more surreal than scary, and it says something that she feels released by the dream. Its a very interesting piece.

[Martin See]

Although this piece deals with the dead and spirits of deceased children....i don't get the feeling of morbidity, rather of playfulness and the 'remembering the dead' theme comes to mind...i find it very creative...in my opinion, the line 'some might find it morbid' is unnecessary, it's good not to pre-empt what readers might think or feel...let us come up with our own response...i enjoyed how the lines flow visually...once again very creative....

[Colton Bose]

Very hypnotic piece of poetry. I very much like it.

[John McGrael]

wow.....
.....it seems with every piece of yours i read today, i become more and more impressed

i cant find any errors at all in this piece; grammar, typos, holes in metaphors... i dont see anything close to an error

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but i would change,
"Some, entombed in graves, so small.
Children, whose joyous laughter was cut short"

to something like,
"some, entombed in such small, young graves
barely distinguishable from the others
children, whose joyous laughter was cut short"

u know, something to make the children part of the adults