Stonehenge
POETRY FORMAT, 11 Apr 2022
Gary Corseri – TRANSCEND Media Service
By Scott Naismith
What was it that they thought to own?
Decades, centuries kept intent intact.
And still it calls us, stone by stone,
To eke out vision from mere fact.
Observatory, temple, some Cheops’ whim,
Or shaman’s riddle in which power hid?
To appease the gods—or find them?
They worshiped trees; dancing, they understood.
We are mute questioners beguiled,
Token pilgrims–properly impressed.
Someone sees the pagan truth defiled.
“They look like Rothkos!” someone can’t resist.
Their shadows stretch behind the level sun,
Shuttered in bus windows, one by one.
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Gary Steven Corseri is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. He is the grandson of Ukrainian-Jewish and Sicilian-Catholic immigrants. Gary has performed his poems at the Carter Presidential Library and his dramas have been produced on PBS-Atlanta and in universities, high schools and Little Theaters. He has published 2 novels, 1 full collection and 1 prize-winning chapbook of poems. His poems, articles, fiction and dramas have appeared in hundreds of global publications & websites, including: Countercurrents, Village Voice, Redbook Magazine, The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, and Transcend Media Service. He has taught at universities in the U.S. and Japan, and in US prisons and public schools. He has worked as a grape-picker in Australia, a gas-station attendant, and an editor. Contact: garyscorseri@gmail.com
Tags: Poetry
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 11 Apr 2022.
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BEAUTIFUL WORDS SPEAKING TO THE MINDS OF ANCIENTS, INSTILLED BY NATURE, NOT YET ALIENATED, WE STILL SEEK TO GRASP THEIR WISDOM IN ENDURING MONUMENTS. . THE PHOTO IS MAGNIFICENT.IS IT FREE TO PUBLIC USE. THANK YOU. TONY
Anthony Marsella: Now I can rest easy for the next few years, having your kind, wise words inscribed in my mind and heart to comfort me in cheerless times.
Of course, you “get” the poem perfectly. I wish more people did, in fact, “seek to grasp their wisdom.” I wish more artists dialogued with each other, and dialogued with ourselves in other times, to learn and unlearn and re-learn ever-unfolding wisdom.
Thank you for the perfect assessment of Scott Naismith’s picture, too. I had credited Sir Naismith in my submission, but somehow it was missed. I’ll mention it to our good friend, A.C.S.R., forthwith.
Namaste– GSC
I am awed by the poem and the painting! The poem speaks to my wish to communicate and understand. My primitive heart wants to dance and revel in the majesty of earth!
Much thanks, Harriet Huddle. Wishing, communicating, understanding…a “primitive heart” that “wants to dance and revel in the majesty of earth!” What a fine, poetic response to a poem and painting!