A new year is almost upon us and this poem I wrote in August of 1998 after watching a summer storm seems fitting somehow. Another year… I am grateful… enough said.
Happy New Year!
Another Will Be Born
Intermittent flashes
Behind the dark night cloud
Wind is heavy blowing
Distant thunder rumbles loud
Standing by the empty street
I watch the fading storm
Knowing on the ‘morrow
Another will be born
Another love, another child
And storms they’ll weather, too
Anxious days and fearful nights
Crying, Lord what will I do
Happy then… no rain, no wind
Dance and laugh and sing
Eager faces to the dawn
Oh, what will it bring
And so the circle turns again
Sun and rain and snow
Love and storms… then dying
Winds of life forever blow
Copyright © 1998 C. Mashburn
Posted to Promising Poets’ Parking Lot’s, Thursday Poets Rally Week 59
Darlene Steelman said
Pretty!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Darlene!
Jo Bryant said
very thoughtful
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the visit and comment, Jo!
Caledoniapoems said
I love this poem. A great read 😉
charlesmashburn said
Thank you! I’m glad you like it!
clariice said
Lovely piece on changing weather in a circle. Though I wasnt very sure about the last two lines – can you share your thoughts behind them? Thanks!
————————————-
Love and storms… then dying
Winds of life forever blow
———————————–
charlesmashburn said
The piece is more about “life” than weather, Clariice. I use the weather as an analogy to life. “Love” is the good part, “storms” are the bad part; love “dies”, we die, storms die; the “winds of life”–and change–continue to blow; and the circle begins again when another child, or another love, is born.
Thank you for the visit and comment!
clariice said
I get it now! Clever way of portraying life. Life is indeed a circle – what goes around, comes around. Thanks for your portrayal!
charlesmashburn said
Your very welcome, Clariice! You forced me to get my mental workout for the day!
siggiofmaine said
Very thought provoking … I like the metaphor…or analogy…I’m not sure of the correct word..of weather and life. I like how you wove the weather thru the poem and included dying…I think there are many writers/poets who shy away from the word in any of its forms.
Peace,
Siggi in Downeast Maine
charlesmashburn said
In my attempt to explain the poem to someone earlier, I wondered which was better–metaphor, or analogy–settled on analogy, as, according to Mr.Webster, a metaphor can be an analogy… uh-oh… I’m confused again…
As for the shying away, I ain’t skeert a much (Texas speak).
Thanks for the visit and comment, Siggi!
terri0729 said
Oh Charlie, And you know as well what I have to say to this – Bam back at you!! Beautifully said and done, my friend 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Haha! BAM! Thanks, Terri! I appreciate it!
muzzleflashing said
Cool.
That first image “Intermittent flashes” just pulls you into the poem.
Good write!
charlesmashburn said
Glad you like it! I like that first line, too!
Life: Between the lines said
winds of life, again and again, round and round we go…life endless it seems with seasonal breaks 🙂
happy rally!!
http://lynnaima.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/souls-paradise/
charlesmashburn said
Thanks for the visit and comment!
Natalie said
what a transformation, it is hopeful and understanding.
Happy Rally.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you!
dc said
I felt the storm, Charles. Good stuff.
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, Dunstan! I appreciate the visit and comment!
Sherry Mashburn said
Beautifully done, Charlie!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, m’dear!
dasuntoucha said
…And so the circle turns again
Sun and rain and snow
Love and storms… then dying
Winds of life forever blow…
…true indeed.
charlesmashburn said
Thanks! I appreciate the visit and comment!
~L said
This may be one of my favorites of yours so far! I loved the depth in this!!!
~L
http://untitledmoments.com/2011/12/23/i-am-many-free-write-friday/
charlesmashburn said
Thanks! Your comment means a lot to me!
Stephanie said
This is beautiful, real, and full of a sense of hope for me. Thanks for sharing!
charlesmashburn said
I glad it speaks hope to you, Stephanie. Thank you for the comment!
Lynn said
thank you, this is very beautiful 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I’m glad you like it, Lynn. Thank you for the visit and comment!
jeannette said
cycle of life! lovely piece!…..thanks for sharing. thanks for dropping by my blog….happy new year!
charlesmashburn said
And thank you for stopping by here and leaving a lovely comment, Jeannette!
BUTTERFLIES OF TIME said
Analogy or metaphor..whatever ..the poem is a gem…loved several lines of it so much and as you say it seems an apt time to read this.” The turning cycle, the winds of life will forever blow. What they took away , what they will bring, let us just wait and know!! Wishing you a lovely new year, and thank you for the constant encouragement at my corner!!
charlesmashburn said
I’m glad you like this poem! You are welcome for the encouragement, and I thank you for your wonderful comments these past months, as well. Happy New Year!
Kim or Lisa said
Great poem, I liked the links between love and life and storms.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
SiNA said
this is VERY well-pace…liked the speed of the words…
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, Sina. I’m glad you like it!
danroberson said
Delightful read, Charles. Life and storms have beginnings and endings and yet they are only fragments of a bigger life/storm cycle. In mathematics I’d say fractal theory and in theology I’d say God. Well written.
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, Dan, for the great comment. I don’t know about that fractal thang, but I’m familiar with the God one!
Thanks for the visit!
Sherrie Theriault said
Beautiful, insightful! Love your work always! Thank you for your kind comments, ever!!
charlesmashburn said
You are so welcome. I look forward to your posts, and read them all! Keep up the good work!
And, thank you for the visit and comment!
dsnake1 said
beautifully written!
this line “And so the circle turns again” keeps turning in my head, probably it so aptly describes life (or the seasons). 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Thank you! Yes, the circle does keep turning!
ManicDdaily said
Wonderful end of year poem. Of course, I’m the kind that tends to worry that winds will not forever blow! At least not on humankind! K.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you! I don’t worry about such things as the winds contiuing to blow on mankind, beause it’s not something I can do anything about!
wordcoaster said
A wonderfully reflective poem–perfect for this time of year 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Thanks! I thought it fit quite well.
I appreciate the visit and comment!
Elyas Mulu Kiros said
Hey Charles! Awesome poem as usual! 🙂
You know, the moment I saw the title, guess what song came to my mind?? lol it’s so weird ..
“Another one bites the dust”, by Queen …
And even if I tried to shrug it off as I read your poem, it so resisted, so I just let it play in my head and still enjoyed your poem!! 🙂
Wishing you and your family Happy New Year!! 😀
charlesmashburn said
That song fits the poem pretty well. Glad you enjyed it, and the poem!
Happy New Year to you and yours, too!
dswan2 said
Love the simile and the smile! We are but a day in God’s thousands. Amazing that he should love us in our instant of life in the rain!
charlesmashburn said
When I read your comment, it flashed in my mind that God possibly sees things as we might view a time-lapse film. You know, where the flower opens and closes in an instant, whereaas in reality it takes all day. I can imagine his view of us from heaven as fields fo flowers flash and ebb like strobe lights, and our lives flash by like shooting stars.
See what you did, Donna! It doesn’t take much to get me going!
Thanks!
Thomas Feliciano said
Great piece, very telling of the Winter’s subliminal rebirth.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much, Thomas! I appreciate the visit and comment!
Zoe said
I love the flow of this one, Charles. There is a lot of depth here, but it is the depth of a slow moving stream as it passes through endless pastoral scenes – steady, profound, constantly changing and yet always the same. Just beautiful.
charlesmashburn said
I like the way you describe the depth, Zoe! Awesome comment!
Alcina said
You have described it so wonderfully!
nice work!
Alcina-Breathless
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much, Alcina!
elainedanforth said
Hi Charles,
You do a good job of showing how the storms are part of life, and we never know quite when or how they will come– but we pretty much know that they will. You balance the uncertainty with the expression of faith that it is all part of a cycle, and life and love will continue.
Can’t resist referring you to a related, very brief one of mine:http://elainedanforth.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/bright-eyed-storm/
Happy Rally, and thanks for reading and commenting already on my rally entry.
Elaine
charlesmashburn said
You analyzed this one to a T, Elaine. My high scool english lit. teacher (Miss Chapman) would give you an A, I’m sure.
Thanks for the wonderful comment!
ladywhispers said
So very beautiful 🙂
And the last stanza is such soooo perfect 🙂
Loved it 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I’m glad you enjoyed this one, too!
Thanks agin for the visit, and especially the wonderful comments!
caridwen said
As others have already noted, it’s that last stanza that really resonates with me – I can never get enough of these sorts of reminders of the cyclical nature of existence. Thank you for posting! Here’s mine this week: http://caridwen.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/drafting-the-clock-strikes-inspiration/ Happy rally!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the great comment, Cari!
Liliana Negoi said
Charles, this poem of yours touched a very sensitive string inside me – i believe that that last stanza is one of the loveliest definitions of life i’ve ever seen:
“And so the circle turns again
Sun and rain and snow
Love and storms… then dying
Winds of life forever blow”
charlesmashburn said
I’m glad you enjoyed this poem, and I’m pleased that it touched you so deeply.
Thank you for a wonderful comment!
Sheelonee said
Hi charles. You’ve expressed this so well.Life does turn- The wheel moves and we move with it.Wasteland to peace that passeth understanding.This comes to all.must come, for this is the circle of life.Seasons greetings to you!. 🙂
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the nice comment, Sheelonee!
Happy New Year!
Inside the Mind of Isadora said
This so beautifully describes the cycles of life is such a metaphorical way.
A timeless piece consider when you had written it. Soooo … very well done, as usual.
Blessings …
Happy New Year – 2012
Isadora
charlesmashburn said
You’re right, Isadora. I hadn’t thought about the timeless aspect of this. It does apply pretty much then, now, and in years to come.
Thanks for the great comment!
Happy New Year to you, too!
Andy said
Hello Charles. Happy Holidays!
I like how you use the changing of the seasons to compare it to the cycle of life & love.
Reflection is always key as one year bows down to another.
Beautifully expressed.
Thanks for sharing. Thanks also for your generous & kind comments throughout the year. I have truly appreciated your visits & interaction.
Wishing you & your family a wonderful New Year filled with much laughter, happiness & of course an abundance of love!
See you next year, my friend…lol 😉
charlesmashburn said
Andy: I’ve enjoyed your poetry very much, and hope to continue reading more in the coming year. Your visits and comments here have also been welcomed and appreciated.
A very happy and blessed 2012 to you and yours!
tasithoughts said
Charles,
You write beautifully. You are a consummate artist with your words.
JP
charlesmashburn said
Thank you, JP! What a wonderful comment/compliment! You get the Made-My-Day button for today!
Kay Salady said
We are ever grateful to look at the end of the season with renewed hope for the wonders that sustain us.
Thank you for your lovely poem, Charles.
charlesmashburn said
I agree, Kay! Thanks for the visit and comment!
Erick Flores said
Very interesting personification “Another will be born.” Really nice poem! Well penned!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you very much for the visit and comment, Erick!
Ostensible Truth (OT) said
oh those winds of life forever blow indeed – what a great way to end this piece! a great rhythm throughout – very nicely done! great seeing this up at poetry palace!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the wonderful comment, OT!
poetryroad said
Great poem to end the year. It is most fitting. I like the juxtaposition of weather and life…happy new year!!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you! I’m glad you like it! Happy New Year to you, too!
marit said
we WILL weather the storms! 😀
charlesmashburn said
Yes, we will!
Thanks for the visit and comment!
Wander said
You are a busy man:-) I realy like this poem, it strikes that cord inside me that brought me to writing and reading poetry in the first place. In the last twenty four hours I have read about thirty authors and few poems ( 5 ) reach the level of this, thank you!
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the awesome comment, Ziggy!
Happy New Year to you and yours!
dhitzunako said
Reading this makes me remember a saying in Indonesian, “Mati Satu Tumbuh Seribu” or ” One Dies, then Thousands Will Live”.
Hope our positive spirit will always be born again, again, and again… Thank you for sharing. 🙂
charlesmashburn said
I like that saying. Thank you for the visit and comment!
mbwilliams said
Epic! I love the imagery of this one: another storm born in another life…magic!
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, mb! Your visits and comments are always appreciated!
A.B. Thomas said
Very delightful!
charlesmashburn said
Thanks, A.B.! I appreciate the visit and comment!
tinkwelborn said
life & death, a seesaw battle — and in-between is all that matters.
nice metaphors used here.
good job.
thanks for sharing the experience.
charlesmashburn said
Thanks for the visit and comment, Tink!
A happy and blessed New Year to you and yours!
Old Raven said
I am grateful for that circle’s turn … ;).
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the visit and comment!
Happy to New Year to you and yours!
magher1 said
Feels pretty nostalgic to me… Very well done!
charlesmashburn said
Yes, I would agree it has a bit of a nostalgic feel to it.
Thanks for the visit and comment!
Jacqui BB said
Pensive.
charlesmashburn said
Thanks for the visit and comment, Jacqui!
Evelyn said
Very good, but very sad poems. Thank you..I enjoyed them.
charlesmashburn said
My poetry seems to go where it wants. I don’t write much poetry these days. Not many folks out there like poetry, so I pretty much gave up on it. I enjoyed the poetry sites for a while, but it got to where I felt like I was trying too hard and forcing it. I think I wrote some pretty good ones during the time I was on the sites though.