May 27, 2008

Sacrifice for a New Day




By Charles Sapp II


Legs alternating,
staggered steps in humanoid patterns
against the Sun burned Earth,
while arms swing like pendulum gears
adding momentum to movement.

Intensity not by heat,
but motive to seek refuge
and simmer in the shade,
with immersed feet in an aquatic oasis
reviving soles of despair.

The nomad with sunburned feet
treads with frostbitten toes; given a piece of self to the world,
a sacrifice
suspended by time’s mercy.
Alternative universe,
an exclamation of a parallel dimension
cascading sheets of ice,
frigid ruins of cavernous cavities
where frozen monuments melt from global disharmony.

The rain cries down over the body of the land from swollen clouds
and the call of the wind halts progress as a heeded warning
lead to the summit of glory.

Sauntering backwards, retracing generations of footprints
and reading the scribed riddles within the strata of abstract clouds;
the rain lifts off the land and returns to the cloud,
this later dissipates, carrying away the distress from a tired planet in peril
and the ignorance that persists.

The dawn of a new day
brings perspective and challenge,
influence is spread vast like the oceans,
deep with retrospect and desire to soothe the bruises and wounds inflicted on life.