Life is a path between the stars.
Tantrums at two were not my youth,
long before those days
cicadas nested in cedar trees.
Old age will not be defined
by creaking limbs and bleached bones.
I will float with abandon,
as myriad shades of liquid blue.
I shall become the ocean wide
waves crashing upon the rocks
seeping in and out,
among the sands of time.
The lunar tug shall continue me
and my waters shall lap the earth.
Abhra hosts dVerse Poets’ Pub, Tuesday Poetics and asks us to answer the question, what would you like to be reborn as or return as?
Photos: from Bermuda, myriad shades of blue!
Interesting fact: cicadas were dependant on Bermuda Cedar trees for their survival, and when the cedar forests died in the 1940s, the cicadas began to quickly disappear. They are now extinct.
lillian the home poet 
pole to pole, between the stars. Beautifully done.
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Smiling I am. Thank you!
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This is phenomenal……!!
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So very glad you like it! 🙂
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“Old age will not be defined
by creaking limbs and bleached bones.
I will float with abandon,
as myriad shades of liquid blue.”
YES
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What’s that old phrase, “age is a state of mind?” Would that it be so! 🙂
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I am envious of your gorgeous photos ~ Love the ending couplet but this part just resonated strongly with me:
I will float with abandon,
as myriad shades of liquid blue.
Strong connection with mother nature ~ Thanks for sharing Lillian ~
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Thank you,Grace. When in Bermuda, we are surrounded by the wonders of Mother Nature! 23.5 miles long and at its widest, 2.5 miles. The coastal line is truly stunning.
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Oh, heavens. I love this so much I actually just moaned out loud.
**embarrassed pause**
That second stanza is FANTASTIC. I love water so much. So.Much.
Do you live in Bermuda? (If so, this indigo-stained desert girl is GREEN with envy.)
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We actually live in Boston — but last year, we discovered Bermuda and lived here for the month of February. Liked it so very much that we are now in a rental apartment with a deck that overlooks the harbor of St. George’s — and we are here for all of February and March. This is their winter 🙂 Very few tourists – no cruise ships – and the daily weather is in the mid-60s to about 72. Beautiful!
So very glad you liked the poem….
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You guys are geniuses! We do a similar thing, if not as delightfully long. It’s about 110 degrees in Southern Nevada in the summer, so we escape to Lake Tahoe for about a month. We also get there for Spring Break, and Thanksgiving. It keeps me sane. 😉
Your photos are fantastic, and I am still green with jealousy…though it’s a nice crisp, blue 32 degrees here this morning. 🙂
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Ah, I do think that if I wished to become someTHING in nature it would indeed be an ocean wave! The ebb and the flow…you have described it so well. (And boo hiss to old age! Smiles.)
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So glad you connected with this one, Mary. Yes, boo hiss to old age indeed — I always say (see my About) that I’m in my rejuvenatement period (never say retirement). Someone once said I should start a rejuvenator’s movement! 🙂
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“I shall become the ocean wide”……..beautiful!
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Thank you, Sherry. To me, this is arms wide open, right? The ocean wide…. So very glad you liked it!
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Thanks for joining and mentioning the facts as well. It helped me reach the heart of your poem. Beautifully done. I loved the effect of path between stars.
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Thank you, Abhra. I enjoyed your prompt — and so nice to meet you!
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What beautiful photos, Lillian, lots of shades of blue! I especially loved your second verse and that ending couplet.
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…and it really looks like this! 🙂 So very glad you enjoyed the poem. Happy I am this morning, sipping my first cup of coffee in this beautiful place.
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Lucky you! Enjoy your time there, Lillian.
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beautiful images and poem : )
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Thank you, Melinda!
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You’re welcome 🙂
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Oh I love what you did here.. And I’m envious of the beauty of Bermuda… I think I’m a frozen sea right now.
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So glad you liked it Bjorn. Yes, well, last year this time Boston was well under the ultimate pile up of 108 inches of snow! Right now, they’re clear ground and getting colder again. Winter here in Bermuda is a balmy mid-60s to 72 during the day and beautiful scenery all around. “Frozen sea” – now there’s a topic for a poem! 🙂
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“The lunar tug shall continue me
and my waters shall lap the earth”
my favorite lines, nice one.
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I debated so long on the first of these two lines….lunar “spell,” “tug,” “pull,” “effect,” Finally settled on “tug” as in similar to love “tugging” at my heart…
Your reply tells me I made the right decision. Smiling I am. Very glad you liked the piece!
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Smiling right back at you, lillian. It’s my pleasure.
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Oh, lovely!
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Thank you, Rosemary. Bermuda (we’re here for all of February and March) is quite the poetic muse! 🙂
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Lovely and peaceful. >
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Ah….sipping my morning coffee, looking out at these Bermudean blues, and thinking exactly as you’ve written. So glad to evoke these words….Thank you! 🙂
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Beautifully written and the images.Certainly a well stitched poem! I like the way you bring in the cicadas. Wonder what they might have been reborn as or what happens to extinct species.
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So glad you enjoyed. I do know there are Cicadas in the US….here in Bermuda many were also devoured by the Kiskade birds. Their cicada hummmm lives on in the kis-ka-dee song! 😊
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Islands can be quite unique in wildlife and badly affected. We’ve just been lucky to take a trip to the Azores. Bermuda some day!
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To have the fluidity of the sea, to offer sustenance to all life. That would be great, Lovely poem!
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Ah, yes indeed! So glad you enjoyed.
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“and my waters shall lap the earth” This is just a beautiful poem.
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Thank you so much. Very happy that you like it!
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Terrific poem. The flow is impeccable (no pun intended!).
‘The lunar tug shall continue me
and my waters shall lap the earth.’
Yummy.
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Thank you, Shirley. So very happy you liked it! 😊
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I would miss the cicadas. We have so many here in this area of the South. I would like to come back as a body of water as well – ocean, secluded pond, lake….just be water. This connected with my soul. Beautiful.
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Happy I am to read your reply, after watching a beautiful sunrise. We still have cicadas in the US – their noise when they get going is quite something!
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I love that sound. It brings back wonderful childhood memories and later memories. They are really cool critters too. Look like aliens but so gentle.
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Mmm…would that we could make a particular distinct human sound – same for everyone – to suggest contentment. Like the cicada or the purr of the cat. We do have laughter but it’s tone can send different messages!
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Oh yes….Retirement? No retreat, no surrender!
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Gravity.. perhaps Nature’s oldtest SonG..
and a cure for aGinG bones.. muscles..
tendons.. ligaments.. iS playing
wITh gravity and not against
it.. art of gravity.. floating
humans terrestrial oN
land of marshmallow
comfort.. wheRe ground
becomes a dance floor
gliding feet come
one with
Earth
and gRain
of SAnd
BuTTerfly
SinGs iN
human
feat
oF
feetONE..:)
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