Monday, November 3, 2008

Sarabande



The waltz of the clouds
rolls high above our thorns,
yet we will arise
from Plato’s dark cave,
and watch our shadows
dance with their forms


10 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Poetry and philosophy in the same post. I'm impressed.

Anonymous said...

I've always distrusted the shadows and the thorns.

Here's to turning toward the sky at our backs. And to a sharp pair of pruning shears. ;)

Sarah Hina said...

Charles, thank you! I've always appreciated the allegory of Plato's cave, with its prisoners and flickering shadows.

Jason, I'll second that toast. :)

I liked the idea of people emerging from that cave, shedding their illusions, but finding something even more beautiful in their place.

WH said...

Heavy sigh. Simple, elegant, beautiful. Your words always look effortless.

Aine said...

It is the response of the prisoners upon one's return to the cave that has always saddened me. Why are the enlightened so mistrusted?

I want to dance with the clouds. I want to be one with the clouds....
:)

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Sarah, Many invisible truths are understood, but can the enlightened ones educate the others who are in the dark, so to speak? I think there is much resistance, mostly out of fear.

Lovely poem, which elicits many thoughts. Thank you.

Sarah Hina said...

Billy, it is far from effortless, but I love that you have that sensation when reading my work. Thank you for saying that.

Aine, I'm right there with you...

It is difficult to introduce light into a place of such purposeful darkness. But tonight, in particular, I'm feeling some signs of acceptance and, dare I say, hope. :)

K, fear is always the stumbling block. I guess it depends on the conviction and persuasiveness of those who go first. And the openness of those who might follow. In rare moments and circumstances, that resistance can crumble. :)

Thanks for your insight, K.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

The poem and the image fit beautifully.

Vesper said...

Sarah, this one will linger more in my heart...
I've already memorised it for I have to keep singing it in my mind.

Sarah Hina said...

Ello, thanks! That photo is very soothing, I think. I hoped the words were, too.

Vesper, wow, thank you! I'm so honored that you took the time to commit these lines to memory. That's such a pleasure for me to hear, my friend. :)