POETRY and PROSE

Author: Dale Sahlberg

POETRY

PROSE

By

Dale Sahlberg

CANDLE OF TRUTH

I sought diligently
to find life's meaning
so if lit truth's candle
and with ray's beaming
held high in my hand
this instrument of light
to shine through the darkness
of disbelief's night.
When finally if found
the great "answer book"
and opened the front cover
to at last have a look
the hot melting wax fell
and burned my hand
causing me to drop the candle
and in darkness stand.
Is it better that if
stay in the darkness
be spared the pain
or light truth's candle
and be burned again ?

CEPHALOPOD HUNTING

With magnifying glass and a big shovel in hand
she meticulously sifts through coarse desert sand
examining a small rock, smashing cretaceous sod
she is on the hunt for that tiny cephalopod.
No scorpions can stop, nor dust storms curtail
her search for a fossil of a primeval snail
and though it is hot in the bright sunlight
that won't end her hunt for a small trilobite.
Her work is exhausting as she looks everywhere
to uncover a polyplacophoroy, a find most rare
her drive is relentless, her digging never stops
she's hoping one day to uncover a triceratops.

YOUR SON IS COMING HOME

Your son is coming home
he served his country well
and to the last
his courage held fast
in the blast of that mortar shell.
Your son is coming home
wrapped in colors of red, white and blue
for being so brave
and for the life that he gave
to him great honor is due.

Your son is coming home
a soldier in whom we take pride
for through the war
on that distant shore
he showed what his country stood for
when he died.

EARTH'S THIRST

Large,
glistening
droplets
of
rain
fell
upon the earth
so parched and dusty.

Slowly,
drinking
deeply
the earth filled
with cool water
so revived and alive.
Warmly,
glowing
brightly
the sun shone
as earth dried then cracked.
Gently,
refreshing
droplets
of
rain
fell ...

LOVE'S EMBER

In loneliness
I knelt seeking grace
but the angels of mercy
came not to me,
only she
whose eyes penetrated
to the inner sanctum of my soul.
Mesmerized by her
I stood transfixed by the gaze
of one born from mystery.
"There is warmth within my wings," she whispered
as I felt the wind of the night
wrap me in a cold embrace.
"I want to give," I replied,
"but found no one to share the flame,
so love's ember slowly died."

She beckoned and I accepted ...
ephemeral ecstasy with incarnate agony.

POVERTY'S CHILD

On the news today
I saw poverty's child.
Thin limbs and sagging skin
bore testimony of hunger's cannibal curse.
There was no food for her plate.

Vacant, hollow eyes had shed
tears of sadness
down a face of loneliness,
etching lines
through dirt's layered coverings.

When hunger devours the body
and sets the spirit free
will there be meaning to this existence
for the children of poverty ?

PEACE LIKE A RIVER

I had peace like a river
bubbling forth from a cool spring
trickling over pebbles
sparkling clean and glistening.
My peace was once
fresh, young and vibrant.
I had peace like a river
that splashes over boulders
is churned to a frenzy
beaten to a fine spray
tossed and sliced
against jagged rocks
in seething, boiling rapids.
My peace was once
troubled, shredded and broken.

I have peace like a river
that is deep, wide and mighty
yet flows on calmly and quietly,
meandering slowly in its course.
The sea patiently waits ...

( Read with a mirror )

SEA FLOOR

Wooden ships are covering the cold sea floor
where wind and tide assail no more
and vast troves of treasure lie in store
for the true believer of old salty sea lore.

The pirate ship "GRIM REAPER" had the misfortune then
of attacking a galleon filled with the king's best men;
when the cannon shot and screaming came to an end,
flame covered the "GRIM REAPER" and she began to descend.

Down to the depths where cold waters flow
where only thick algae and tall seaweeds grow
the terror of the high seas was finally brought low
to a murky dark place just shadows and corpses know.
Sent to the bottom by fatal damage done
having lost other battles, now the king finally won;
the sea poured in and cooled the still smoking gun
blanketing the wounded from the scorch of the sun.
Now feeling the same horror they loved to create
the flow of flooding waters the pirates tried to abate
but failed and in losing cursed the king with bitter hate
when they realized the sea floor was soon to be their fate.

SEEKING DIRECTIONS

A dedication to ...
Those who never found their missing part
who looked for an end, unsure where to start
waiting from sunrise for the setting of the sun
finding in sleep what could never be won.
Who looked outside for what was within
wanted to go there but could never begin
who thought they lost what they never had
believed through tears could they really be glad.

Who feel that half is better than the whole
and the body is there to cover a soul
that possessing is adding when more is actually lost
covet the prize without considering the cost.
Who would buy that which they must give away
and leave from where they needed to stay
travelling to places they didn't need to go
because others had gone there and they should also.

QUENCH MY THIRST

I bitterly wept
tears of sorrow.
Down my face
my tears dripped
into a large golden goblet
filling it to the brim.

I wept
until I could no more,
then I was thirsty.

With a smile
the world offered me a drink
from the same golden goblet
filled to the brim.

TOO LATE

The screech of car tires
quick turn of wheel
still hitting a little form
that broke upon the steel
and lay in a small bundle
staining the road red ...
"I sa..sa..saw her too late,"
was all the drunk driver said.

Another drink for the road
was too many that day
a small precious child
would never again play;
for the parents - no answers
only these words instead ...
"I sa..sa..saw her too late,"
was all the drunk driver said.

I USED TO ASK

I used to ask
the world,
"Why ?"

Until the world replied,
"why ask why ?"

Then I realized that
knowing why
changes nothing ...

The world still goes on and on.

LOVE'S KNITTING

I thought life’s course could no longer be run,

my damaged heart faintly was beating,

no more would I see the bright light of the sun,

the torchlight of life was slowly fading.

My will was resigned to the next life beyond,

with this chapter of existence soon closing,

I lost the resolve to faithfully hang on

to hope of life’s joy everlasting.

At the moment my grasp was almost broken,

your soft angel wings began warmly enfolding,

stopping death's blow from being harshly stricken,

averting my book from a sorrowful ending.

In my journey through existence a fresh course has begun,

atall candle of hope is now brightly shining,

life’s fabric newly woven, each thread finely spun,

warm clothes made with your precious love’s knitting.

POETRY BANYAN TREE

Poetry is a magnificently massive banyan tree

With readers forming branches that spread continuously

Its many authors are broad leaves glossy green and leathery

The whole providing welcome shade for a literary community.

With roots drawing nourishment from our sacred mother earth

Each vein lifts up love, laughter, joy, sorrow and pain

Every verse inspires thoughts about life from death to birth

Refreshing our thirsty souls with the lyrics nurturing rain.

PEOPLE ARE SO AMAZINGLY LIKE FRUIT

People are so amazingly like fruit
manifest evidence of nature's astonishing variety
with matching characteristics no one can dispute
insize, flavor, form, texture and consistency.
Lemon people appear lustrously colorful yet inside are completely sour
apple folks seem most angrily red but truly are pleasantly sweet
watermelon individuals store plentiful water for nourishing another fruit's flower
while an avocado person provides healthy counsel so nutritionally complete.
Passionfruit members have a soft juicy center covered by a firm glossy rind
always craving to mix their aroma and flavor with others of lascivious mind.
Kumquat folks thrive in harsher conditions than their delicate tangerine cousins
enduring intense heat and freezing gusts without crumbling under relentless tensions.
Grape people progressively become better as they age and eventually mature
transmuting into an exquisite fine wine upon retiring to a life of pure leisure.
Raisin kind crammed in a box
wile away dreary hours
composing haiku

Kiwifruit comrades have a fuzzy exterior encircling a syrupy yet unique flavor
they quickly render assistance, never hesitate to help when you ask them for a kind favor.
Blackberry individuals hide in a city's dense brambles, protected by leaves sharp and prickly
if you reach out to them, severe cuts will ensue and you'll withdraw your hand very quickly.

Prune associates can provide welcome relief when you encounter a painful dead-end
if none can be found then plum folks can step in to deliver a comparable trend.
Date fruit persons only grow in thick clusters securely attached to the family palm
when separated, stuff themselves with savory fillings to recapture prior harmony and calm.
Individual berries of budding flowers join together to create a pineapple community
cut the top off the fruit, plant in fertile soil and that person will regrow miraculously.
Coconut fruit is a drupe, not a true nut, though in reality some people truly are
every individual hoards precious milk under protecting layers numbering three
thin outer skin covers fibrous husk around a hard shell no fingernail could ever mar
with sunken eyes that eerily scowl at you after shaking them from their palm tree.
Acai folk can restore your vigor as effectively as a revitalizing acai smoothie
pomegranate comrades add intoxicating spirits to their cocktails albeit parsimoniously.

Cherry people are consistently cheery
always greet you with a heartwarming smile
ask how they can help when you're feeling dreary
make you aware time spent with you is unquestionably worthwhile.
Mango individuals have a soft, pulpy texture that engenders congeniality
while prickly pear people have elongated spines which penetrate painfully.
Banana comrades gather in large bunches, ripening until matching the hue of our sun
don't squeeze too hard, hold gently while peeling layers, take care never to step on one.
Trying to determine if a cantaloupe teenager has finally reached full maturity
could be an exasperating, vexing and continuously frustrating endeavor
thumping, squeezing, shaking, even smelling cannot guarantee precision
would be more worthwhile to compose backwards rhymes like this one.

Cucumber people are resilient and hardy
crunchy, succulent and very sweet
when submerged in the vinegar of adversity
emerge from that dunking more complete.

Olive people are bitter and unpalatable company
until their acrimony is removed by a curing bath of kindness
then their focus turns to promoting peace and tranquility
serving others with compassionate thoughtfulness.

Papaya folk have an astonishing ability
upon meeting a heart made of fibers tough and sinewy
to somehow decrease the aggression while increasing docility
pacifying and tenderizing that person very effectively.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Peaches and nectarines are a mouthwatering stone fruit
both having a spicy scent and rich flavor;
a peach has fuzzy skin while a nectarine doesn't follow suit
each offers lip-smacking tastes for us to savor.
Only one difference separates these two types of fruit
a genetic mutation created a recessive gene;
it determines whether the fruit will be fuzzy or cute
can we learn valuable lessons from a humble nectarine?

MEANINGFUL CUP

Seeking to find the meaning of life

In a world full of hate, turmoil and strife

A journey was begun by a resolute one

To consult a guru on a lofty mountain.

Finding no trail up from the granite basin

By pulling on boulder edges over again

The seeker began a perilous ascent

Climbing slowly with pain and lament.

Two days elapsed before reaching the crest

Where the climber halted a moment to rest

Before walking to an elderly man seated content

On a blanket by a campfire in front of a large tent.

"What do you seek?" the sage queried

Of the young man so visibly wearied

"The meaning of life to our existence,"

He answered with manifest insistence.

Grabbing a porcelain cup alongside

The sage placed it into the climber's hand

"Look and tell me what is inside,"

He spoke with a strident command.

Peering down, the visitor answered,

"Nothing is inside. It is empty."

"Not so!" the sage swiftly countered

"The cup is filled with air aplenty."

Clutching the handle of a jug by his left knee

The sage poured clear liquid into the cup leisurely

"Check again and tell me what is within."

"Water," the young man declared with a grin.

"Wrong," the sage chuckled merrily

"Drink and state what you have surmised."

Gulping the entire contents hastily

"Sake!" the hiker replied quite surprised.

Retrieving the cup from the man's hand

The sage said, "Listen carefully to understand

This vessel began as soft white clay

Cast to this shape and baked for a day

Then smeared with glaze and thrust again

Into the blazing flames of a redbrick oven.

Now it can hold soup to slake hunger pain

Chilled water to quench unbearable thirst

Willow tea to assuage a severe migraine

Uplifting spirits when you feel at your worst."

Tapping the hiker's arm the sage finished,

"You are an earthen vessel uniquely molded,

What gives life meaning is stored inside

Let this knowledge now be your guide."

TRAIN HAIKU

Commuter train to work

Occupy time daily trip

Compose haiku

RAISIN HAIKU

Shrunken grapes in box

Selection rejections

Never wine

UPSIDE DOWN WORLD

RIDDLE

What can hold hot air until filled with chilled water

Singe seizing fingers or gradually warm a frozen hand

Be shaped circular, elliptical, square, even rectangular

While being wide, narrow, very small or tall and grand ?

What could be tightly sewn from dried and tanned animal hide

Cut from towering bamboo stalks with tensile strength rivaling steel

Made from plastic or molded paper with a wax coating lightly applied

Hold potions that can cause elation, sedation, painful death or even heal ?

What could be formed from soft clay made harder by intense fire

Chiseled from blue granite, banded onyx, white marble, jade or amber

Carved from walnut, maple, teakwood, mahogany, oak or red cedar

Cast in glimmering gold, glistening steel, burnished bronze or shiny copper ?

RIDDLE

(stereogram answer)

------

A stereogram is an optical illusion of depth created from a 2D image.

Gaze patiently at the center of the stone pattern in the image on the above webpage - an object within is the answer to the riddle.

LUMPINI PARK HAIKU

Rode dukduk to Lumpini Park in Bangkok

Watched model airplanes fly

Heavenly tranquility

CART HAIKU

Land Rover stuck on muddy road

Rode cart to nearest village

Dependable horsepower

STAR SAPPHIRE HAIKU

Boarded big bus bound for bustling Bangkok

Bought brightly beaming sapphire for beloved

Bewitching beauty

NONSTOP FLIGHT HAIKU

Crammed into narrow airplane seats

Cold air vents not circulating

Creeping claustrophobia

RIVERBOAT HAIKU

Heading up Mekong River to next village

Giant catfish swimming underneath

Riverboat adventure

SAMLAW HAIKU

Samlaw ride out to visit friend in Nongkai

Sticky rice with spiced shredded papaya

Superb supper

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