Vast expanse looming
Single disconnected grains
Hour glass ticking
.
The tiniest rock
Carries the heaviest weight
Strength alone ebbing
.
Frustrated steps sink
Grains claw in supplication
Prayer time ending
.
One is annoyance
Millions demand attention
A sand storm brewing
.
Vast problems challenge
Connecting into action
(For visually challenged reader, the image shows a person walking in a desert, dwarfed by huge sand dunes. A long line of their footsteps can be seen behind them)
Squeaking in under the wire of Sadje’s What do you see? #46. The picture above might seem hopeless, scary to some – a figure alone in the desert. But to me, I felt envious of the time to be alone, to walk and think, to feel the heat on my skin and the notice the individual grains of sand beneath my feet.
I know this feeling is because of all the “family time” we have been having. I never realized how much I enjoyed having time to myself until those opportunities were curtailed with this pandemic. I grew up in a family where we were together all the time so I actually don’t mind all the togetherness, but since having a taste of time alone when all the kids were in school last year…being able to sit in a silent house is definitely a luxury I enjoy!
But this poem had another inspiration with Kate’s Friday Fun Prompt – Vastness and Donna Matthew’s Poetry Form Challenge on the Go Dog Go Cafe to try a Haiku Sonnet. I love form challenges. I used the traditional American syllable form for my haikus. It’s still brief enough for me (LOL – if you haven’t noticed I do tend to be wordy so the use of forms is definitely a challenge)!
The idea of vastness though, like being alone, can be hopeless and scary sometimes. But Kate writes:
spaciousness or vastness often opens our minds
especially if we are feeling tightness or fear
Writing this poem made me think of all the things I am afraid to do alone, but that are easier to do with others. As the old adage states: there is strength in numbers, strength in being together – whether with friends or family.
Creating vastness also means creating space for others to join you. If we are closed in – physically, mentally, emotionally – we won’t have the space for others – other people, other ideas, other experiences.
With all the discord in our world today, creating space for togetherness seems to be one solution.
©️ 2020 iido
I Do Run 