From Art to Law

From art to law
from beauty to pain
a life with twists and turns
bringing him home and
bringing him to his demons
testing his mettle again
after the grounding in his mother’s world
seeing the joy in the music, the paintings
preparing him to face them,
the ghosts of the past
the echoes of the cannon fire
the indentured servitude
conscription and orders
orders to dark to honor
places in the heart, in the memory
that should stay hidden in the pages
of time, the attic of history
forced to squirm in the hot sunlight
like a nocturnal bug
yanked from under a boulder
fearing the image in the mirror
blurred, contorted in the prism of memory
longing for closure, for an easing of the pain
maybe that is the message, the hope
in this place, a place for contemplation
for justice, far from the battle lines
the purges of the past
Hope may be here, for rest from turmoil
for resolution and redemption
for clearing away unspoken thoughts
painful images of the past

August 23, 2006 10:59


All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,830+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.