aurora borealis
the butterfly effect
is the quintessential cause
of chaos
we cannot stop living
and so
we keep dying
time waits for us to look away
however briefly
to add tattoos to our skin
hope keeps us going
just long enough to walk into a room
filled with hopelessness
a snake sheds its skin as it grows
and glides into
a larger version of itself
mother nature’s patterns and
illusions only make sense
if you’re a cloud
refuse to look away
refuse to cry uncle
refuse to be broken
for just now
another set of wings
emerges
from a dried-husk brittle
cocoon
translucent
blue and brilliant
flying home
…….
….
.
Sending love and light to the victims of the aurora shootings
and those whose lives they touched.
.
.
.
dVerse poets Open Link Night
July 24th, 2012 at 8:09 am
You transport me with your writing.
July 24th, 2012 at 9:22 am
dang…so much harsh reality in this….just enough hope to walk into a room of hopelessness….i love the message of strength though, and unwillingness to give up, just maybe change…
July 24th, 2012 at 9:25 am
we cannot stop living
and so
we keep dying
—-
These words and the feelings/thoughts/visions they create are stunning….wow….so very well done.
July 24th, 2012 at 9:27 am
Powerful and real. just enough hope to walk into a room of hopelessness…I feel you and I love that you share a message of strength in the end. We can’t stop ..we have to go on. A beautiful write.
July 24th, 2012 at 9:34 am
the butterfly effect. of course. yes. it makes no sense, ever. keep breathing, patch up the cracks. it’s all we can do. refuse to cry uncle.
perfect, you know.
July 24th, 2012 at 9:36 am
Like a punch in the stomach. So powerful and so true.
July 24th, 2012 at 9:54 am
Thank you. I saw the victims on tv last night and my heart bleeds. Why we cannot all die peaceful or somewhat graciously, even if young, is beyond. But I. Hope anyway.
July 24th, 2012 at 10:13 am
Thank you. I’d like THIS tattooed on my heart.
July 24th, 2012 at 11:42 am
This moved me deeply “another set of wings
emerges
from a dried-husk brittle
cocoon
translucent
blue and brilliant
flying home …just beautiful & heartbreaking, Kelly
July 24th, 2012 at 11:48 am
much to like here…we cannot stop living
and so
we keep dying…. the ….hope keeps us going
just long enough to walk into a room
filled with hopelessness..and time waits..adding tattoes to our skin..great
July 24th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
[…] all of my fiery contradictions with my doubts and confusion with my dedication to this […]
July 24th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
refuse to look away
refuse to cry uncle
refuse to be broken
for just now
THIS is what we must strive for.
July 24th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
This is very touching. I live in Aurora (born and raised), so I am struggling to keep my chin up. Thanks for your love & light.
July 24th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
“time waits for us to look away
however briefly
to add tattoos to our skin”
Damn, this is brilliant.
July 24th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
I absolutely cannot single out anything in here that speaks to me more loudly than any other image–it all has such sweet beauty, and also mortality to it. Wonderful.
July 24th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
stunning tribute, beautifully penned.
July 24th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
This is so beautiful. Sad, because of what inspired it and yet, leaves one feeling that little spark of hope for the rest of humanity that is astonished, and heartbroken at such a random, senseless act as carried out in Aurora. Your imagery of the butterfly evolving from the cocoon is so beautiful. Sad to think of those lives lost and those forever affected by this one person and yet, life is always life and for those of us left, goes on.
A lovely, deeply touching tribute.
July 24th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
Rending, this hits close to home; I agree it is stunning and brilliant.
July 24th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
exquisite. soft wording powered with strong images. love it.
July 24th, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Trying to raise the emergent butterfly as the aurora borealis works for me on the level of miracles–a neat reversal of the tragedies we’ve created in the name of the Butterfly Effect. Perhaps you are redefining that here. In either case the strong message of looking life and its impossibilities square in the face appeals to me as a central mystery.
July 24th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
What a beautiful tribute. That repitition of “refuse” grabs attention and brings home the message that we can’t give up.
July 24th, 2012 at 6:11 pm
The first thing that got me was the title of this poem. Secondly, I had a gut feeling based on the title this was going to be a very good poem. Then the first stanza did not disappoint. And the remainder of the poem was was wonderful. Thank you for releasing in our lifes this poem.
July 24th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
God bless the people of Aurora, and bless you too for such a beautiful poem.
July 24th, 2012 at 8:01 pm
Lovely share… my fav lines are:
we cannot stop living
and so
we keep dying
July 24th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
A call to never give up and to face life head on even in the worse of times! Excellent message for us all. Thanks for such a powerful writing and dedication to the families in Aurora, Colorado.
Thanks!
July 24th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
Super pretty poem, and makes me hopeful just reading. k.
July 24th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
MM,
Inspirational and filled with hope. This one hit the spot tonight. Many wonderful lines. For me, “mother nature’s patterns and/illusions only make sense/if you’re a cloud” is especially fine. Nice job. (no need to visit back–no post for me tonight!)
July 25th, 2012 at 6:59 am
“refuse to look away
refuse to cry uncle
refuse to be broken”
Beautiful words for a moment that has touched us all.
You’ve touched on so many things here, many inevitable, many part of life. We must remember to keep the sad, the bad, from defining us and ” to stay strong, keep hope alive, and refuse to be broken. Thank you for sharing this.
July 25th, 2012 at 7:30 am
felt the struggle in your words
July 25th, 2012 at 8:21 am
Wow! This is powerful. Really beautifully written 🙂
July 25th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
beautifully written…the despair, the pain…
July 25th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
So very true, got tattoos a plenty on me I never wanted and sure more will come.
July 25th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
The first read through I thought it was about the vibrant aurora borealis this year – the words captivated, the images seared. When I read the line that the Aurora included the references to the massacre, I re-read with different intent. This poem works on not only those levels but myriad others, grounded in philosophical observations, written in concrete images, this is an exceptionally well crafted poem. Thank you!
July 25th, 2012 at 11:08 pm
There are some hard truths here, i think. The passion of hope informs this. Lines that are striking include
a snake sheds its skin as it grows
and glides into
a larger version of itself
mother nature’s patterns and
illusions only make sense
if you’re a cloud
I don’t know whether that second stanza is cynical, but it is true indeed, since I do not think that thinking of natural processes in these circumstances console mourners. The lines that provide hope, at the end, are crystal clear, though they take a belief in possibilities that transcend the earthly.
Excellently written.
July 26th, 2012 at 5:57 am
beautiful tribute
July 26th, 2012 at 11:23 am
So very touching, heartfelt.
July 26th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
sorry i am late – mad week…
this is thoughtful and poigniant…
pitched perfectly, and like Gay, i was taken in two directions – which i think is a tribute to the piece…
great job
sad times
July 26th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
I like this a lot. There is a sort of chaos, and also a sort of cyclical nature to it all. Birth and death and rebirth as something new…maybe a leaf (to me). Keep the fighting words going…keep ‘refusing.’ :hugs:
July 29th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
A treasure, because as deeply buried as it is to find something like hope in so dark a tragedy, one must dig like nothing else matters, because without it we would find ourselves destroyed.