Thursday, July 7, 2011

waiting for angels

Art by Steven DaLuz


we walk in night. wrapped in darkness. we seek a place to sit. to stay. to wait.

we rest. hurling words at one another as if they were rocks. flinging them high. waiting to hear them hit. and bounce. and still.

in stillness. the sound of water. brackish. gushing beneath the roots of trees.

we hear it so clearly. the sound.

we hear them. we see them. rocks. their lifeless elegance. their earthy splendor.

we reach out our hands with struggle. with hunger. with greed.

the rocks cut our flesh. splinter our bones. our hands glimmer with blood. we raise them to our faces in terror. now, our faces are bloody, too.

we gasp at the horror of being exposed.

we take shelter in a tree with limbs praying to a bountiless sky, frozen in mid-incantation. we scale the sky with weary eyes.

we see him. an apparition? he stabs with his actuality.

he circles. he curves. he descends. he sheds his wings. lays them on the ground.

he glances at us. brief eyes and ethereal lashes.

he curls into himself beneath the tree. he catches the rain as it drips from the leaves.

we sit. we wait. expectantly.

in the morning. we will still be waiting.

he will uncurl himself. he will brush off the rain. he will mount his wings upon his back.

and he will rise. slowly.

and we will be left. waiting.

for him. or for another angel. to come. and shed his wings. and leave us waiting while he sleeps.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

powerful emotion in this....leaves the mind wondering....beautiful

Betty Manousos said...

aw, nevine, you're gifted with a lively poetic imagination.
this piece is really divine! i adore the repetition of words, this is so you/your writing style.
what beautiful emotions this poem conjures!

once you choose hope, anything,s possible.

warm hugs
betty xxx

Betty Manousos said...

...you're very gifted in the area of creating the most evoking, vivid mental images in your readers' mind.
you're awesome, my dearest!

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

Beautiful imagery Nevine :)

Cheers,
Blasphemous Aesthete

Stranger in a Strange Land said...

Why are you waiting and I landed in Sweden of all places. Wonderment of wonderments.

Here I am in human form. (:

Lovely poem as usual. Angels don't judge...That is the realm of the human ego. So never feel uncomfortabler in their pressence.

Kindest regards,
Mike

Pat Tillett said...

Hi Nevine! I love your imagination. Of course that is only half the battle, I also love how you are able to transfer it to paper.
Very nice...

Eva said...

It was interesting to me that the angel shed his wings. As if to make him more like us. Sometimes comfort comes from feeling close. Like the angels wait out the storm and the pain with us, leaving, only to return to us again.

Peaceful thoughts here.

Mildred said...

Ça me fait penser à une querelle amoureuse. Ça commence tout doucement, puis ça va crescendo pour ne devenir que violence et obscurité! On devient des diables qui se déchirent jusqu'à ce qu'on reste abasourdi par la violence de la dispute. Mais dans cet épuisement et souffrance, si on reste là sans plus rien dire, l'ange qui est tapi quelque part dans l'obscurité (l'ange qui est aussi en nous) finit par sortir de sa cachette et par nous laver de nos blessures!
C'était très beau, ma belle Nevine!

¤ BIZZZOUZZZ et belle journée ¤

Shadow said...

superb, once again.

A Cuban In London said...

"we gasp at the horror of being exposed".

I loved the human angle in this line. It's true, we don't like being bare. That's why many of us wear masks. But mine keeps slipping off...

Greetings from London.

Nevine Sultan said...

David - :-)

Betty – You’re so sweet… always encouraging me with your lovely words and your meaningful thoughts. I really appreciate your sweet presence here… and your delightful friendship. Thank you for always leaving me with a smile on my face, my dearest. Big warm hugs to you.

Nevine Sultan said...

Blasphemous Aesthete – Thank you! Since the focus here was not so much on plot but on imagery, I do appreciate your comment a great deal.

Mike – I’ll have to fly myself over to Sweden, then. ;-) Along with my “waiting for angels” buddies, of course. Interesting thoughts you have on angels not being judgmental. I have often wondered if angels didn’t retain some of our human failings and weaknesses. Lovely to chat with you, always, Mike!

Nevine Sultan said...

Pat – Thank you, Pat. Imagining it is the fun part. Transferring it to paper is the challenge. But it’s my favorite challenge in this whole wide world… so I’ll take it any day! :-)

Eva – I suppose it does make the angel more like us that he shed his wings, though he chose to ignore those who were waiting for him and just flew back on out where he came from the following morning. That must have been hurtful! I think, though, that the peace did come from his mere presence…

Nevine Sultan said...

Mildred – Et bien Mildred, mon amie, avec tes belles pensées. :-) You always have other dimensions, other perspectives. And I love when you share them, ma belle. I could write a new story based on ton commentaire! But I wouldn’t want to spoil its magic. Tu es un trésor! Bises!!!

Shadow – So nice to see you, Shadow. And thank you!

Nevine Sultan said...

Cuban – If your mask keeps slipping off it’s probably because you hate to wear it. I hate to wear mine too, but sometimes I have to in this dog eats dog world out there, Cuban! ;-)

Unknown said...

"we gasp at the horror of being exposed"

As do we all.

Judith Mercado said...

Powerful, evocative, haunting. As always, you transport me to dimensions and insights that are both welcomed and surprising.

GYPSYWOMAN said...

well, dear nevine, once again your words catch me unprepared to counter with words of my own - but what good more words when perfect ones sit before my eyes - and reach out to my heart - once more - magical and beautiful!

Rick said...

Hello Nevine,

I've been away a few months building the new web magazine (www.whitecatpublications.com) and didn't even know you had this beautiful new format!

The last line of the this poem ripples with power and demonstrates a masterful grasp of human nature "...and leave us waiting while he sleeps."

This is why I didn't include a poetry section in the new magazine- because I would find myself comparing the submitted work to yours. Then again, you've inspired enough people that perhaps I'll discover other poets who aspire to what you've achieved.

Mildred said...

Visited you at TNL and it made my day!
Your thoughts are worth much more than a penny!
Loved the song too! And had to look for the lyrics to sing along with Marillion! he he he;o)
¤ GROS bisous ma belle ¤ et BELLE journée ¤

S. Susan Deborah said...

I have always believed that angels are the next step of humans. Perhaps the shedding implied that. But there are many humans who, like angels, touch us in many different ways. I have always envied the wings of an angel.

Joy always,
Susan

Nevine Sultan said...

Lou - Well, some don't necessarily gasp, though. Some revel in exposure, it seems. But yes, most of us are not keen on that, really.

Judy - Your comment makes me smile. I wrote this piece on a very early morning and, when I was finished with it, I didn't know what to think. I didn't know where it had come from. It just came and took me away with it. I'm happy to hear you were transported, too!

Nevine Sultan said...

Jenean - Your thoughts are the magic, and thank you. I'm happy you liked it, Jenean. It's a bit outside of my usual, I suppose. But I enjoyed writing it. I'm glad you liked reading it.

Rick - So good to see you here! And I will swing by and visit your new site soon. I have been looking forward to it. It's so kind of you to be as appreciative of my writing as you are, so thank you, Rick. But I have to tell you . . . there are some pretty talented poets out there, so you should have no worries about finding fine pieces of work for publication. I also know you to be a discerning reader, and why wouldn't you be? You are, after all, an editor now. And you should have no qualms about being as picky as you wish to be so only the finest is included in your publication. Can't wait to swing by, though. I'll let you know my thoughts. Thanks so much for stopping in, Rick.

Nevine Sultan said...

Mildred - You are so very sweet, and thank you, ma belle. That song, oh yes! It's so very dear to me. I'm glad you liked it, too. :-) Merci for always being so sympa!!! ;-)

Susan - Such profound thoughts you have about the realm of angels. And, how I wish I had angel's wings too, sometimes. But I don't know if the magic of the unknown would be spoiled for me, once and for all, if I could go wherever I pleased, whenever I wanted. But then, I suppose that is not all of what angels do, is it?

Mildred said...

Coucou ma belle!
Merci beaucoup pour tes visites et tes petits mots toujours si sympas et aussi pour ton inscription;o)
Je suis allée lire sur TNL, et je vois que la piscine t'a inspiré un très beau poème;o)
Nevine, je sais très bien que tu as entrepris des études et que ça demande beaucoup de temps et d'énergie. Alors, essaie de trouver déjà un peu de temps pour te reposer et t'amuser, et les blogs à visiter, ça passe après tout ça! Moi aussi, en ce moment, je ne peux pas visiter tous les amis et tout lire! Mon hubby est en vacances depuis mardi soir et on fait des choses ensemble et vendredi 22 juillet on part pour 2 semaines;o)
Mais je passerai te lire et te dire au revoir avant de partir;o)

¤ Gros BIZZZOUZZZZ et belle fin de semaine, mon amie ¤

ps: donne mon bonjour à qui tu sais;o)

Nevine Sultan said...

Coucou, Mildred! Oui, la piscine m'inspire toujours. Mais, non... je pense que c'est l'eau qui m'inspire, en fait! ;-) Je repose pendant le week-end, même si j'ai encore beaucoup à faire avec mes études. Mais, on ne peu pas continuer à travailler sans cesse. :-) Donc, je fais toujours quelque chose pour moi-même. Je danse, je lis, je sors avec mon mari, ou avec des amies. On va se balader les après-midi. Ou bien, on reste chez nous et on fait la cuisine ensemble. Tout simple, mais nécessaire! Merci, ma belle. Et je te souhaite une bonne semaine! Gros gros bisous!!!

Nevine Sultan said...

Et bonnes vacances, Mildred!!! He he he... :-)

Craftsman of light said...

Our angels gives up their wings, and the journey becomes interesting, he takes us there only when we too shed shedding ourselves of everything!

So much changes,....it takes only a time lap of a drop of water falling from a leaf.

Your words take me right up to the brim...then pushes me into the unexpected parts of myself.

Love to you!
Enjoy your holidays....And your studies too!

Nevine Sultan said...

COL - I delight in your words, as always, dear COL. Thank you so much for the pleasure of your presence... and your understanding... every time.