deepundergroundpoetry.com
The Ashes of Mumbo-Jumbo
The poet with no pen
felt his heart was overflowing
and so he picked a crooked stick
to scratch his feelings on the desert floor
He asked the wind not to blow
until all the verses were finished
so that he might sit and reflect upon them
before the comfort of his own fire
But because the stick he had chosen was not perfect
there were places where the words looked strange
so even the poet himself
struggled to understand all he had written
He sought help from the skies
but found only a mocking glint in the stars
and when the moon rose, his spirits sank
for she solemnly refused a single word of advice
Then at last as the wind began to blow
he heard a voice whispering his name:
Trust yourself, it said, but remember always
that time changes everything--
for from the ashes of mumbo-jumbo
is born the voice of reason within.
felt his heart was overflowing
and so he picked a crooked stick
to scratch his feelings on the desert floor
He asked the wind not to blow
until all the verses were finished
so that he might sit and reflect upon them
before the comfort of his own fire
But because the stick he had chosen was not perfect
there were places where the words looked strange
so even the poet himself
struggled to understand all he had written
He sought help from the skies
but found only a mocking glint in the stars
and when the moon rose, his spirits sank
for she solemnly refused a single word of advice
Then at last as the wind began to blow
he heard a voice whispering his name:
Trust yourself, it said, but remember always
that time changes everything--
for from the ashes of mumbo-jumbo
is born the voice of reason within.
Published 15th Mar 2011
| Edited 2nd Oct 2014
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Commenting Preference:
The author encourages honest critique.
15th Mar 2011 1:38pm
15th Mar 2011 5:28pm
I'll agree with Jesta... This piece has that specific-yet-vague quality of a parable: it feels like there are a lot of details and it seems like one specific story, but it really can be interpreted many ways and applied to a wide range of situations. I like it a lot.
