Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Relics

Relics

The mountains that in ages
past were level plateaus;
the shoreline that has
not kept its place;

the bones of extinction layered
like words in a holy book,
telling the story
of what once was;

the changing sky,
a glimpse of the universe
passing, rolled together
as a scroll.

Everything
everywhere
always
never

            the same,
yesterday’s relics,
like the boarded-up shops
in any small town.

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For dVerse OpenLinkNight. Claudia's post had me thinking about culture, history, place, and this is what came out. 

39 comments:

  1. sobering end...the boarded up shops...far too many of those ghosts of old business...and towns...but its change you know...and the mountains just keep growing....and today becomes history

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    1. Thanks Brian--there's always a bit of sadness joined with change.

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  2. We are on the same page this week... how awesome is that!! I love the format.

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    1. Thanks Laurie--you know what they say about great minds.

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  3. Yes, everything is ALWAYS changing. A certainty of life.

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    1. Thanks Mary. Change is something we can count on, for sure!

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  4. A great layering of words.

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  5. Relics are fascinating things ~ And yes, things are always changing & never looks the same ~

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  6. In life nothing remains the same the world is always changing..I find it sad to see boarded up buildings..I wish we could just tear them down and plant trees..even sadder when the building is historical filled with history and ghosts that would like their story told..relics can be wonderful to explore..

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    1. Thanks Truedessa--there's always some personal history tied up in old buildings, especially if you've lived in a town for a while.

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  7. This sings, it is very mesmerizing.

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  8. Great word choices - it builds outward and upward and then back again. I really like this.

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    1. Thanks Debi, for taking the trip out and up and back again!

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  9. I like how you bend time and space with your words, Nico!

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  10. You write the thoughts that happen in peace of mind, peace of spirit. Wonderful. ~peace, Jason

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    1. Thanks Jason--sometimes the only peace I can find is on the page.

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  11. nice write..everything in motion..constant changing, never returning..like the relics of yore likened to boarded up towns

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    1. Thanks Dorianna--always changing, both on large and small scales.

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  12. Nice reflection and great use of metaphor. Never constant, always changing and yet this is the place we call home.

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  13. i like how you ground this with the last image of the boarded-up shops
    in any small town... makes it even more palpable...it's sad when whole cultures are no more after a time of blooming.. nothing as constant as change..

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    1. Thanks Claudia--sometimes we need a reminder that our sense of permanence is an illusion.

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  14. Great images and then smacked with the ending, the truth, to big to ignore anymore. Excellente!

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    1. Thanks Henry--it's a little unsettling to realize how fragile we really are!

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  15. I admire the closing lines, how you personalize it into the human realm - yet still distant, as though looking at an old tintype.

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    1. Thanks M, for looking at this tintype poem with clear eyes!

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  16. Love how you brought the ever changing geological philosophy of change to the last stanza... the rhythm and the tempo like a solemn walk...

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  17. Gorgeous writing...love the changing skies passing like a scroll...perfect! We live in times of constant change whether it be the geological or economical we just have to find new pathways through the landscape.

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    1. Thanks Di--I can't claim originality for the scroll bit. The image comes from the Bible (Isaiah, and I think probably other places as well). I hope the good Lord doesn't mind that I borrowed it!

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  18. Great rhythm to this, Nico.

    Pamela

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  19. Change is the only thing we can expect but there is so much knowledge and beauty in the trails behind us. Beautiful work.

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  20. Thanks Beth--it's good if we can take the knowledge and beauty along with us.

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  21. Great ending to a great capture..the boarded up shops....a sad reality.

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