Friday 26 October 2018

The Cultural Inheritance of my Hypothetical Granddaughter

Yellow butterflies drink salt from your tears,
drain your colours to monochrome.

Silence white margins your words
to endless winter.

Stillness so deep you can hear clouds
transmute to diamonds.

Check your shoes for black scorpions –
belief in Armageddon is self-fulfilling.

An end to all colour.




Previously published in The Journal and first posted on this blog in 2008. 

I just posted a poem and accompanying collage over on my Shapeshifting Green blog - you can see it here.

13 comments:

writerwoman said...

belief in Armageddon is self-fulfilling

What a powerful line. This poem has a real sense of authority to it. I enjoyed reading it.

Deb said...

I love the title (as well as the finely tuned poem) and how you tie culture to nature. Something many have clearly forgotten to do.

paisley said...

i am with writerwoman,,, that line is chilling.....

Anonymous said...

each phrase is so well writen. very tastefu and powerful piece.

Crafty Green Poet said...

writerwoman - thanks!

deb - thanks, yes I think we have too often forgotten the links there.

gautami, paisley - thanks

Anonymous said...

A bleak & chilling vision of the passing of the world.

Anonymous said...

I like these first two lines, although the entire poem is a work of art:

Yellow butterflies drink salt from your tears,
drain your colours to monochrome.

I am going to read this one again - it deserves it.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous, Juliet, very powerful.

Crafty Green Poet said...

dick - yes it is a bit bleak!

mariacristina, jo - thanks

Anonymous said...

The clouds transmuting to diamonds is a breathtaking image. God, you're good!

Catherine said...

Stunning images in this one

Anonymous said...

I like this very much.

Especially this:

"Check your shoes for black scorpions –
belief in Armageddon is self-fulfilling."

So many of us think and write about this, in these times...

Magyar said...

we are all
standing on our tell
the rumble

_m