Writing poetry

I was inspired by a radio programme interview with Michael Longley, whose poetry sang to me over the airwaves. He inspired me to continue to write poetry, even though I really don't know what it is anymore. It used to rhyme. It used to have rhythm. Today, it is just a shorter collection of words strung together in a way that may or may not speak to someone. Michael said poetry is best written by the young and the old. I used to write poetry when I was young, as so many of us do when we have powerful emotions battling inside us through hormonal surges. Now that I'm older, I've started again, in tune with what he said. Perhaps it's because in the middle, we're too busy to be emotional. At both ends, we can't help it. Here goes...

Emotion on the ocean

by Daria Blackwell




Oh, the joy of silencing the beast
that devours precious
liquid gold extracted
from a scorched earth's core
and spits it out in toxic clouds.
Sputtering to a stop,
alarm bells warning,
a welcome quiet descends,
washing over us with relief.

We glide along the surface,
wings harnessing wind,
the tail propelled by water.
Tension above balanced
by unseen forces below,
in invisible harmony.
No tension in between,
as we dance along the line
that divides the sky from the sea.

We feed our boundless joy
with small bites of pleasure
while witnessing miracles
where the two meet
by chance encounter.
Peace settles fluidly,
quenching the mind's thirst
for the space and time to
think oneself into calmness.

We sense the hand of God
taking charge of our world,
in a balancing act that
propels our spirits
high above the earth
allowing our souls to soar
deep into the vast universe.
Released from the earth's
crushing pull, we sail.