Gossamer

Gossamer 

What one sees 

matters not to the other. 

It matters little,  

because it does not belong to the other. 

It belongs to the one with walls that contain, 

like a damn built up in blockade of its waters, 

likewise...the man who controls his thoughts... 

What the man doesn’t realize, 

what he can not easily see, 

are the cracks spreading out in radial waves, 

emanating from his center foundation, 

webbing out through his being...flooding over time. 

Time, 

days, months, years, 

hours, seconds.... 

until a simple tiny pebble of some such sort 

arbitrarily hits a crack in just the right place, 

forcing floods of water to rush through in swells, 

taking with it the small, seemingly insignificant pebble. 

The dam hangs in shambles and rubble, 

raw and broken, 

hope guiding its rebuild on time. 

Time, 

days, month, years, 

hours, 

seconds, 

whilst the tiny pebble tumbles, 

head over foot down over, 

and comes to rest aloft a rocky promontory, 

untarnished and whole, 

a small polished stone, 

shining anew once again. 

Author's Note

Photo courtesy of Jane Selverstone.
No copyright infringement is intended.

Reviews

[emmajoy]

There are moments words fulfil unnecessary explanation - gossamer, 'a visual understood of one's own perception'. A sudden emotion, a sudden touch of how it feels to be small, great.. and the anything between an' even more. That pebble is what one makes it.. a ripple, a scar, a love or fallacy.. you conjure thoughts from me, for sure.. thank you, friend.

[Seriana]

Thank you Em

[Fabian G. Franklin]

The oscillation of emotion; of thought, action and reaction riding wave upon wave, cascading like the ocean against the shore. It's very soothing perhaps deceivingly so. For we must beware that "rogue wave" more powerful than the others that washes our sandcastles away. Very nice writing. I enjoyed.

[Seriana]

Thank you Fabian. You are too kind. :)
I'm so glad you enjoyed!

[barleygirl]

Your poem is powerful & passionate, not in a sexual way, but in an emotional way. This message reminds me of my mom. I just finished writing a book about her (this is not a plug, just showing you where my head is at). My dad (her "ex" in the story) was a mean abusive man. Mom used to insist she was "over it" and that "God has taken it all away"! But she was always on the verge of shattering into a million teardrops over all those years of abuse she tried so hard to stuff. This poem feels like a loving tribute to people who stuff so much (for whatever reasons, we all do it!) & are ready to burst (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Seriana]

Margie! Thank you so much for your review and sharing your own personal story. I so much appreciate it. I hope to make time to read your piece. :)
Amber

[SkinlessFrank]

Time, eons of it, the type you speak so clearly of can not only break down, but also build up....witness the rise of life and the grand diversification of its children. We are lucky to witness even a slice.

[Seriana]

You have such a unique review of my pieces. It causes me pause and I am grateful for that. Thank you for your kind words!

[Hawaiian_fire]

to control to eventually lose control-or not to control from the onset.
This is everyone's plight- have little explosions daily or Let it build up to eventually wipe out everything around you -only to rebuild again. Thought provoking indeed.

[Seriana]

Thank you again for your wonderful thoughts! I treasure the reviews

[Dave]

It is interesting that no matter how "strong" a wall we build it is possible for even the smallest pebble, places at the right time, and the right place can bring it all come tumbling down. NIce stated.
Take care - Dave

[Seriana]

Thank you Dave. Always appreciate your kind words when you stop by!

[John the Baptist]

This one comes across as a cautionary tale for men who control their thoughts. It seems to say that such control will eventually cause fissures like those in a dam which is crumbling bit by bit until it collapses. I'll have to ruminate on this thesis a while. If the word had been "repress," I could more easily agree, but control of thoughts, especially negative ones, is a necessity in my experience. Having worked for years in the mental health field, my recollection is that those who don't control their thoughts are the ones who break down.
PS: In line 6, did you mean to say "damn?"

[Seriana]

Thanks John! Appreciate your thoughts so much. I have been pondering your comment on line 6. Initially, yes, I believe I misspelled. However, I love a good play on words so I might keep it as it is.
Thanks again! Appreciate you :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I think she is the small polished stone who has survived and come to rest "untarnished and whole"

shining anew...she is a survivor.
j.

[Seriana]

Thank you J! I appreciate your thoughts. You know, I usually don't explain my writing, but you picked up on something in it I just have to comment about. When I wrote this, I imagined myself as the pebble and the man as any person I knew who kept in emotions and never let them out or shared their feeling. A small peddle (or comment) can, and does crack a person wide open sometimes and it spills all out. After I finished writing, I re-read it several times and though of something different. The pebble is really the same person as the dam, stripped free from their confinements and able to start anew. :)
Thank you again!

[An owl on the moon]

Gossamer... just the word... one of the most beautiful in the English language. It is so full of vibrant imagery, and your threaded words and phrases that follow are so powerfully expressed in beauty, in transformation, in moments and seasons of life. You weave a world of what can be seen and what remains always invisible to the eye. Stunning, stirring sighs.

[Seriana]

Isn't it such a beauty? The word? fragile, delicate, yet strong in its foundation. Thank you for walking through with the beauty of your own words, sharing with me all of your heart. I do so very much enjoy you, Craig!

[An owl on the moon]

It is... oh, it is... a most magnificent word! And thank you for sending the kindest ones always. :)

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

great poems can make you see many ideas in it. And this is a marvekius peice of writing.

We all have our needs and desires. Hoe ew scheive it is up to you not how others think you should.