Friday, October 19, 2012

Rebel Without a Pause: for Emily Dickinson







Do not mistake this sudden pallor for indecisiveness,
as my quieted voice shall still contain more lucid strength
than my fluttering wing-like hands could ever seem to accord,
given the sheer limitations of Mortality
and its brutal effects upon a fragile frame once encased
by silken flesh and detrimental desires for far more
than polite Society would ever allow
one of my industrious stature, one whose shadow
could be seen casting great light against lace curtains
shielding one from terrors delineated by night.  

There are those who chose to cast their caustic judgments
upon my frail, burnished head - 
yet, I maintained my supposed ignorance
in the futile face of their callous behavior and continued, 
unscathed, along my rebellious path into the woods
and vales so beloved, where I found Freedom waiting
for my unfurled flag to be planted with gentle pride.

Those who, more kindly, oft referred to me as "eccentric",
while others called me "crazy" for retrieving my Wisdom
from their errant porches filled with inane talk
of stylish kerchiefs and bows, the latest gossip
recently arrived from Boston;

I did not care to pour such nonsense into my delicate mind,
which retained only draughts of the finest liqueurs
to sustain my utter intoxication
with this odd substance called Life.

I sought neither the price of Fame
nor Fortune's restrictions,
knowing well that they were n'er to be held
within my gentle grasp;

no, I pursued a deeper, more courageous path,
an unrelenting step into the wilderness of Soul,
where few would venture from fear of Discovery,
from hesitations of bitter harvests
caused by inexorable longings for infinite Repose.
My Vision traveled beyond the horizon's heft. 

I am a fragrance aloft on ancient winds,
a child of Nature now returned to the fields
I once fled into, for the comforting solace of solitude,
where my unfettered thoughts
could explore innocent Wisdom,
where unending Grace would find me
drifting in silent song.





No comments:

Post a Comment