by Mike Ellwood
Member since:
November 20, 2006

The Fault

April 12, 2009 04:33 PM EDT (Updated: April 12, 2009 04:49 PM EDT)
views: 60 | rating: 10/10 (10 votes) | comments: 15

 

 

The Fault


The globe contracts. Now feel the wrinkled flesh

Fissure and shift. Perhaps you sense some pain

As crunching rock gives way like crumbling bone

And skin is torn to shreds. You feel the crush

Of hemispheres and somewhere in your brain

You sense a sound too low for human ear

Possessing you as ripples in the air

Communicate the elemental groan.

 

The earth has moved. Our maps are obsolete

And I am lost. I reach to touch but space

Instead of substance meets my palm. That place

Of certainty has gone. Where we would meet

The friction of the fault, the searing rift

Has broken me and caused the ground to shift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

link to this page
Bookmark this post:
Facebook
Twitter
Delicious
Buzz
More

Comments: 15

Andrea Grenadier Apr 12, 2009, 4:54pm EDT
Mike, this is splendid. It reminds me of the recent news of volcanos, the potential destruction they wreak, the uncertainly of their activity -- but how harrowingly beautiful, terrifying, and remarkable they are to watch, this nature. Your words makes me think that there is no certainty, what was solid is, in fact, nothing of the kind, what was there, will no longer be. I love the way your lines are made up of familiar words that describe the mystery of something so gravely uncertain. There is no foothold to be had here, only doubt. In this way, it reminded me of religion, and how the loss of faith, even to one who does not adhere to any religion, causes this very same reaction. This is quite fine.
Mike Ellwood Apr 12, 2009, 5:12pm EDT
Andrea, thankyou for your comment. Very perceptive indeed!
Beth G. Apr 12, 2009, 5:15pm EDT
This was very good, I liked how you used a natural events as an analogy about the relationship.
Nancy Biri Apr 12, 2009, 5:22pm EDT
Nice
Wow! This is fantastic, Mike. I have never been through an earthquake but through reading this, I feel I know what it would be like, to say nothing of how well it describes a broken relationship.
roger s. Apr 12, 2009, 6:15pm EDT
I love reading that I felt like I was there cooooool
regina k. Apr 12, 2009, 7:19pm EDT
very beautiful
Angela A. Apr 12, 2009, 7:52pm EDT
Wow!
Cool poem.
Happy Easter.
Thanks for posting to my group, Anythingwriting
Georgiana S. Apr 12, 2009, 10:46pm EDT
Living in California I know that rumble too well!
Granny Janny H. Apr 13, 2009, 12:54am EDT
Rift, shift, earth shaking change
sure to derange
Mindset moved displaced to a state
That cannot be soothed

This potent poem works on more than one level and levels us all to the reality of
our basic vulnerability to the whims of nature

Featured on Poet's Weekly Muse. I've missed you Mike.
Always Tillie M. Apr 15, 2009, 12:37am EDT
I felt the uncertainty of the ground moving and reaching for something that is not there anymore. Good job.
EDWINA (MISSIE) B. Apr 16, 2009, 3:43am EDT
VERY NICELY DONE
Sheila Deeth Apr 16, 2009, 4:18pm EDT
Very neat.
Susan Budig Apr 29, 2009, 11:01am EDT
Last evening in a poetry class that I'm teaching, I brought up the idea of metaphor. This sonnet, Mike, is a gem of a sonnet. Andrea found the quake indicative of loss of faith, others read into it a loss, or shift, of a relationship. Whatever the metaphor is mutates according to the reader. Your ability to write something both ambiguous and specific is enjoyed.

Thank you for posting to Mindful Poetry.
Ian B (in Toronto) May 2, 2009, 5:57pm EDT
Good imagery!

Join the Conversation
Chime in! Become a Gather member to comment.
Already a member? Sign in
top
 
Gather | Friends | Groups | Share
About Gather | Engagement Marketing | Make New Friends | Gather Points | Advertise on Gather | Gather Press | Privacy | Terms of Service | Community Guidelines
Books | Celebs | Entertainment | Family | Food | Health | Moms | Money | News | Politics | Spirituality | Sports | Travel | Writing
Version 16836, "Oz"; Copyright © 2009 Gather Inc. All rights reserved.