Hi all at What's Going On?
First of all .. a public hurrah.. congratulations, welcome and delighted to participate in the launch of this much-needed site... For the last few years I have been wandering around in my mind ... wondering in polite language WTF is going on... and so to find fabulous familiar voices raised and opening doors to connect is a breath of fresh air. Time marches on and I'm part of the parade - have continued writing and have my small as I like it private practice to keep me connected outside my own tumultuous head. Enough of the prologue.
I hope that I am not beginning by breaking any rules - but as said I have had this question whirling for years now... I wanted to share my poem Gobsmacked with you all... (which is how I was feeling a few years ago and I've just continued to be smacked in the years up to the present!)
Hugs and looking forward to reading and commenting ! .. and now here is my launch poem...
GOBSMACKED *
When day might turn to night and night might turn to day
And people stop talking to you and why they won’t say
When the icecaps are melting and some say nothing is wrong
And the bees they are leaving and the frogs stop their song
When politics turn misanthropic, a mass mad mobby joke
And those who should speak forget how they once spoke
When you wake in the morning with a shudder and chill
And the future seems dark and dim and filled with ill will
When shots ring in classrooms and children fall dead
And elders are quiet while youngsters spill wisdom instead
When day might turn to night and night might turn to day
And you speak, think and write and don’t know what to say
When your heart pounds bloody and fingers turn icy and cold
And you try to be fierce, strong, stand up and be ever so bold
When the world starts to shrink and toddlers die at the shore
When war weapons murder innocents not less but still more
When eyes look for footing and guidance in hurricane gales
And find instead tossed bombastic operatic paper-towel tales
When it seems like you’re standing in a snow globe of frizz
And the very air that you breathe is thrumming with fizz
When sense flies out of touch and nothing seems real
And divisions are toxic and conversations surreal
When all that you knew seems now up for debate
And too much around you spews spilled out with hate
When you want to get going but can’t get to the gate
When day might turn to night and night might turn to day
As global shards of pain sidewise whirl destruction’s disarray
When oceans rise and mountains fall
And injustice and wrongs far too many to articulate them all
When you see time running out, hopefulness each day attacked
Then my friend, then you know, you are being ....
-Gobsmacked-
*title poem for a chapbook published out of frustration in 2019 -
I thought it was particularly appropriate for this wonderful kick off of
What's Going On?
Pearl, you covered so much in this poem. Where do I start? I think about a lot of these things to. So much has changed in recent years. I will highlight one thing I think about a lot:
ReplyDelete"When all that you knew seems now up for debate
And too much around you spews spilled out with hate"
Sounds, unfortunately, like the daily news. When did "reality" become so controversial? And why oh why so much hatred being spewed? Welcome, Pearl!
Oh Mary I wrote along response thanking you so very much for responding and how very much it means to me that we are connecting. However, when I just checked back in I see that my comment did not post! On the bright side. Somehow I seem finally to be signed in to google and I am not anonymous - at least not here and now .. so a bit of a bright note. Thank you again and huge congratulations on the new site!
DeleteI am gobsmacked by the way you, in this poem, articulated all of the things that have caused me so much pain since 2016, when vitriol was unleashed and spread across the globe. Not to mention the climate crisis accelerating. This is truly what's going on, and you have nailed it in your poem. Congrats on the book, too. I have decided to do a book of climate crisis poems, since it seems I cant write about anything else any more, the cause is just so urgent, and leaders deaf and blind to it in their lust for power and money. So glad you linked this poem and I didnt miss reading it.
ReplyDeleteAhhh yes Sherry - we’re certainly living in tilted times - so dark and foreboding at times - it seems as though we’ll all just slide off into some fathomless abyss - but then there is poetry and passion and the powerful concern of good people with vision to spread the word and to connect with one another as we stand together. I am delighted that my words resonated and of course dismayed at the need to write them!
DeleteMy goodness this is an epic poem full of burning thoughts and questions that plague each and every one of us! I applaud you for this one, Pearl 💖💖
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you Sanaa - for stopping by, for reading and responding with such grand words -it is a welcome pleasure to share some of these thoughts that do plague us all and perhaps our connections will shine a positive power in these tumultuous often dark times .
DeleteAll this and rhyme, too! Wow, this practically sings, a la Bob Dylan. I hear the refrains and the harmonica. You are clearly not referred to in this line: "And those who should speak forget how they once spoke." I like how that rhymes with Joke. Poets and comedians are doing their jobs--look to the arts and find us working hard . . . look at you! Thank you for this poem.
ReplyDeleteAwww Susan - my reply to you did not post ! Hmmm - Thank you again - wow a Dylan comparison is beyond high praise - you given me the gift of a smile thinking of him on the harmonica singing out with his signature sound about “the days of being gobsmacked”
DeleteI am delighted that my words resonated and as I always say dismayed that they needed to be written - Thank you again for reading and reaching out - it means a great deal 🥰
wow pearl. all it takes for evil to prevail is for good humans to do nothing. -Eric
ReplyDeleteEric - my goodness a “wow” you’ve touched me deeply - thank you and yes, I couldn’t agree with you more - hopefully all of our passions gathered together with voices raised will be a powerful force against evil and for good
DeleteOh my goodness THANK YOU ALL! Just stopped in to see if anything had gone through and ..oh my … to hear all your voices - to know I have been heard - guess there is such a thin crust overlaying a chasm of vulnerability -because simply put dear dear poetic friends my eyes are filled , my breath deep and steady -cheered by your support and the power that I sense we have together - Thank you Thank you Thank you … ♥️♥️
ReplyDeleteWow. Well, this is a thinker on so many levels and a reminder to us all to never get complacent. Time is of the essence with our every action, isn't it? Thank you for sharing this powerful write <3
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you Sunra ... just getting back to reading comments
DeletePearl,
ReplyDeleteThis is a superb poem which has pretty much drawn together most of the angsts I too have observed in this world of today.
Quite a scary outlook is upon the horizon. I fear for my grandchildren and what awaits their future.
Gobsmacked to find that's What's Going On, in my lifetime and seemingly without much ability to halt this situation...
Thank you for the comment on the poem - these are undoubtedly troubling times - it helps to connect 🌟
DeleteOh Eileen thank you again.. just getting to read comments and these are surely frightening times... so much gobsmacking going on that it's dizzying!
DeleteGobsmacked! Nothing could be a better title than this. The rhythm is like a nursery rhyme so full of innocence yet each word is loaded with experience of truth. This is exactly what's going on around us. Brilliant, Pearl!
ReplyDeleteAwww Sumana - just reading these comments. Thank you for such a wonderful response. My goodness not every day one gets a "brilliant" you've touched me deeply!
DeleteThis poem says it all, Pearl! I am so glad you linked it at What's Going On? Gobsmacked indeed. So much is happening everywhere, one cant catch her breath. Climate breakdown is accelerating faster than expected and, as our "leaders" are doing nothing to slow the pace, it is pretty scary.
ReplyDeleteTrue Sherry.. just reading your comment to this poem following a spectacular rain storm in NY yesterday that brought enormous collection of water and flooded nearby areas. Frightening times.
DeleteAww Sherry Thank you so very much - I am so delighted to be here and yes, I do agree (especially highlighted by yesterday's spectacular frightening rainstorm in NY) that climate breakdown is accelerating in a dizzying pace.
Delete