I never coursed the twilight riverbanks
as you did, narrow translucent frames
of sunset’s red, the white face of moonrise .
This man’s exodus treads sterile desert,
trackless, sometimes illumined
by cold lunar light, more often cursed
by solar sear. My body became
a parchment chart of these wanderings,
dry memorial scars of the paths
I’ve traveled, the steps blown smooth behind me
by winds of time. Scratched words and images
I must recall in finding my way when I reach
these blessed oases of light and life
…you’re reading one.
© 2012 Joseph Hesch
A Thing for Words 
Beautiful, dear Joe….just lovely 🙂 xo
Thank you, dear Louise. Your comments are especially important to me. xox
nice…love the dry parchment charts…scars of paths blown over in my passing…to the blessed oases…really nice joe….
Thanks, Brian. One of those ten-minute “where the heck did THAT come from” pieces. Love those!! 😉
def love those as well…happy OLN man…
Beautiful imagery, timeless feel. Love it.
Thank you! I’m pleased that you like it so…
I smiled all the way through this, first because it is wonderful, and second because I wrote a poem this morning with such a similar theme.
“dry memorial scars of the paths
I’ve traveled, the steps blown smooth behind me
by winds of time”
fabulous.
Thank you, Kelly. Glad you enjoyed it.
I’ll be visiting my friend Mrs. Mediocrity’s blog shortly to see that poem!
This is sublime, Joe. I ‘ve read it several times and each time I get lost in the flow from one word to another and can almost see that “parchment chart of these wanderings” appear on the narrator as he travels through them. Brilliant!
Thank you, Ben. Your comment means a lot to me!
I’m so glad to see one of my old friends here at the new blog.
So lovely! This really is a journey through words. 🙂
Thank you, Eve. I’m so happy you’ve stopped by and like this poem!
A poem of an epiphany, perhaps, Joe? Certainly a poem that embraces an ephemeral moment of wonder. Beautiful 🙂
Thank you, Peter. I wouldn’t call it an epiphany, per se. But it was a moment of clarity, image and feeling that washed over the page in a flash.
Honoured (see what I did there?) to find you here!!
nice…finding oases of light and life in our writing when we mirror the way and trace the path we came..i like..
Just got a bit lost, between reading yours and Louise’s poetry. Bit of a trip there, lovely structure, flowing like a river and the images are gorgeous Joe
Lovely… “My body became a parchment chart of these wanderings, dry memorial scars of the paths I’ve traveled” – life’s recompense for our soulful search… It’s a hard trek with its own scars and rewards… oases as you call them… perfect.
i am reading your lighted path. nice.
a parchment chart of these wanderings… loved the visual to these words
Life is hard… and you’ve put your life before those so poetic symbols, those grand gods: twilight, the sun the moon and then …you
I like the flow of this poem. I had to read it twice to find it, but it was beautiful when I did. Peace, Linda
Beautiful. The last line is my favorite.
Lovely poem.
What more can I say that hasnt already been said.
Love the way it ties wanderings to words, light to enlightenment. Well done.
You never disappoint Joseph. I particularly like the tongue in cheek way this poem end. It just kind of nails it. Beautiful.
Thank you, Elizabeth. Sometimes I get lucky with my words. 😉
Beautiful.
Having walked in the desert, I’ll take the riverbanks any day. Preferably with an umbrella, and an umbrella drink.
This flows well and feels like a journey of discovery. When you arrive, it isn’t about arriving at the oasis, though, it seems. Just about remembering and writing it all down. Of course you’re a writer. You can always fill your canteen LATER! LOL
Oh, this is a bit of perfection, Joe. Just lovely images all the way around. The picture of prints being blown away by the wind was my favorite.
Can see the trackless trail and can imagine that each trail is etched in wrinkled skin… and the ending … wow… made me go back and read the poem all over again!
Nice. I like the steps blown smooth by winds of time.
All the notes are resolved in the final chord of that last line. I really enjoyed this, reading it three times through to absorb what I could. Thank you for sharing this bit of parchment.
beautiful description of self realisation ……loved it thank you x
I recognize those wandering, Joe, and the blessed stillness that is occasionally found…’solar sear’ I know all about.. 🙂
Wonderful weaving of words…
”I’ve traveled, the steps blown smooth behind me
by winds of time.”
Just beautiful, Joe : )
-Eva
Love the smooth pathway behind you. We find inspiration everywhere and I believe that something of our life influences everything that we write whether we know the source or not. The voice of this poem is gentle and makes the world feel like a great place to live. Thank you, Joe.
An evocative string of words. Very nice, Joe.
Thank you, so much, Millie. And welcome to A Thing for Words. Feel free to browse around. Hope you find more pieces you enjoy!