Thursday, May 15, 2008

Poem(s) of the Week

I had an email conversation with my friend Joan this week. She said something along the lines of "I have no answers... only questions," which made me think of this first poem. I told her I'd try to find it and post it. So here it is. I added the second one because it seemed to sort of "go" with the first in some way. No idea why. They are both quite old. Unfortunately, I never had the good sense to date my poems, so I'm not sure when they were written. Before some of my readers were born, I suspect. God, I'm old.


It is not the knowing which matters
But the seeking after
The need to see the dark side of the moon
To touch the bottom of the sea
The answer always seems a little pale
A little disappointing
Beside the miracle of curiosity
But the riddle teases on and on
And we forget
That only the questions are real.


- Katherine E. Rabenau


~~~~~~~~~~


My reality is of my own making
But I forget, being human,
And wandering in vanished universes
Become confused
Succumb to moments
Instead of eternities
Believe in limits
Not limitlessness

My reality is of my own making
Moment by moment
I create my self
In shades of light and dark
Joy and sorrow -
But like an artist blindfolded
Refusing to concede her skill

My reality is of my own making
I sculpt my life
From thoughts and hopes and hidden fears
Molding and remolding
In search of some as yet unknown perfection


My reality is of my own making
A play continually in progress
Each actor working with a different script
Improvising as she goes along
To make the plot more interesting
Until some denouement can be achieved


My reality is of my own making
Although I close my eyes
And try to abnegate my power
It will not leave
But like a faithful lover
Awaits the ecstasy of mutual embrace.

- Katherine E. Rabenau


I added one of my favorite pictures of Angel here just because it seems in an indirect way, to go with the first poem. She is, after all, seeking answers.... seeking something, anyway...

4 comments:

tt said...

You are so gifted. Those were beautiful. Have you ever thought of having your poems printed and selling them? Or are they meant to just incourage you along the way?
I love the pic of Angel. I wonder if he/she? could see once he/she( sorry I don't know which) got out of the light? I love inquisitiveness!

Raven said...

If you love inquisitiveness, Angel is the cat for you. You would love her. SHE is very loving, very smart and as inquisitive as they come, but without any sense our caution about things. She was rescued by a friend of mine in the pouring rain, covered in dung and half dead with giardia. Since People in that area tend to throw animals away - my other cat really was severely abused - we initially thought Angel was a victim of cruelty. After getting to know her I'm guessing she was a victim of curiosity and that someone is still wondering what ever happened to the cute little kitten that disappeared. The friend who rescued Angel has 12 rescued animals. She took care of Angel and Tara for me for a couple of weeks when I didn't quite have a home. She told me that she never realized what what I meant about Angel's naughtiness until she lived with her. She said having Angel around was like having an additional 11 cats to care for. How's that for a long answer to a short question.

As for my poetry. Thank you for the compliment. I have dreamed of having them printed and selling them since I was about 15. A few years back I actually designed a book, printed it out but never got to the part of hooking the pages together and doing anything with it. I can't remember where it is since I've moved. The curse of being both disorganized and disabled plus being chased out of your home.

Dianne said...

"Refusing to concede her skill"

well now that just jumped off the page at me ;)

I think these are my favorites. And that is saying so much since I love everything you write.

I tried coming up with a "how many cats does it take to change a lightbulb" joke but nothing came to me LOL

I adore Angel, she's a female Siren but probably gentler. You're all so lucky to have each other.

Raven said...

Hi

I'm getting good praise today and I love it. I fear I can never get enough but I lap up what I get.

I am lucky to have my cats. Angel is pure mush when she isn't being naughty. She is almost all sugar. Tara might not agree. She does have her "let's jump on Tara moments" and then we have hissing and limp-pawed batting at each other. They are very funny.