Saturday, July 9, 2011

the aftermath of goodness




In the aftermath of goodness,
there is shouting throughout the streets
a crowd gathers near a clock-tower of a radical
difference in time,
and you spot a light
of indecent exposure
in a gated window where
promise lives; it is morning in a marketplace
of the dove flying past descent
hell bent on a crumb
of bread among the
ripened and the celebrated hate

bkmackenzie
copyrighted 2011

Posted for One Stop Poetry - Celebrating Leonard Cohen

10 comments:

  1. Barbara: Thinking I'm missing some of this, because there IS so much here, so many things going on at once, like a rapid scene-switching cinema segment. Gonna read it more, because I see it IS worthwhile. I WANT to understand.
    PEACE, from Steve

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  2. Reminds me of an uprising of the populace, against the rule of a 54-year-tyranny. Sometimes victory is not all what I thought it could be--expectations?
    Bye.

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  3. I think you have the jest of it Steve...a turn in current truth - into a descent of turmoil...thanks for reading....Cohen does this so well in his writings...explaining humanity and chaos.....bkm

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  4. This is a very powerful piece, Barbara.

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  5. whew...wicked closing lines...yes you capture well the current 'state' of affairs...smiles.

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  6. Wow. Read this several times, and aloud. One of your most powerful pieces yet: the "dove flying past descent/hell bent" is a brilliant juxtaposition.
    Thank you.

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  7. The first line is such a refreshing interpretation of world ugliness! Noah's dove has quite another mission here! Amazing!

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  8. brilliant write ....really enjoyed it and the message it tells ...thank you

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  9. I can hear Leonard's voice in this, well done.

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  10. I echo others who have said that Leonard's voice lies behind this as one reads. I'm sure he himself would feel the same.

    I like the descent/hell bent lines best.

    Kat

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