# On a Golden Evening



## toddm (Mar 19, 2011)

On a golden evening
approaching the seashore
where crashing waves 
of old tumbled unceasingly
upon the sweeping sands,
the grey tides have now
fled further out and away,
have subdued their cascading rolls
that on a time used to dance and sparkle
like golden fire under sunlit skies ~
Behold the silence
of the exposed seabed
where various items
from the living ocean
now lay discarded and dead
on the bone-dry sands ~
The shorelines have shifted;
the shape of all lands
has now been changed ~
Fellow-folk who
once strolled these shores 
with light step
and rosy cheek
now hobble stone-stiff
to gaze upon the remnants
of the fading seas of yesterday ~
The somber winter-frost has settled
upon the heads of those
who once held sway
and prominence
but who now look for comfort
in the light and laughter
of younger lives ~
Yet knowing that they themselves
are drifting away from 
the vibrant shore
their feet affixed not as surely
upon these hither-lands,
where the new buds of spring
are even now blossoming,
they stoop their weary heads
under the weight of many years
and view all lands
as from a distant horizon
where sun is setting
and eyes are dimming ~
They manage a smile
and softly whisper 
to all these things: 
“goodbye” ~


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## arkayye (Apr 8, 2011)

I like the rising and the ebbing and the subtle swaying of lines on this poem. It manages to bring about that goodbye without sadness or regret.


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## toddm (Apr 10, 2011)

arkayye said:


> I like the rising and the ebbing and the subtle swaying of lines on this poem. It manages to bring about that goodbye without sadness or regret.


 thank you - this was one of those pieces that nearly fell out whole-made, after attending a family funeral and seeing familiar faces I had not seen in many years - it caused a peculiar melancholy to swell up within me, but not wholly sad, as you noted


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## Firemajic (May 22, 2011)

I read your work once-real fast-then went back and read it again-slower this time-then went back and read it a third time-slower yet...I was hooked-the subtle underflow of wisdom took my breath away...The last 12 lines were pure genius...
I understand what you mean when you said it "fell out whole".the poem I posted--"Arise my love" was given "birth to"..I grabbed my pen and "purged" myself on paper..love your poem-thank you..


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## WCB (May 22, 2011)

Yes, the poem does feel like a person who is looking back on life with a silent reverie one only has after a lifetime of activity.  The 'dimming of the eyes' really brings the whole feel to life. A knowledge that the time to 'move on' is at hand, and feeling pleased and slightly saddened that one has to go.  Good, very good work.


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## toddm (May 23, 2011)

Firemajic said:


> I read your work once-real fast-then went back and read it again-slower this time-then went back and read it a third time-slower yet...I was hooked-the subtle underflow of wisdom took my breath away...The last 12 lines were pure genius...


 
wow, thanks - it's nice to have written something that bears repeated readings - 



> I understand what you mean when you said it "fell out whole".the poem I posted--"Arise my love" was given "birth to"..I grabbed my pen and "purged" myself on paper..love your poem-thank you..



it's nice when that happens, like the mind and heart are firing as one
thanks again
---todd


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## toddm (May 23, 2011)

WCB said:


> Yes, the poem does feel like a person who is looking back on life with a silent reverie one only has after a lifetime of activity. The 'dimming of the eyes' really brings the whole feel to life. A knowledge that the time to 'move on' is at hand, and feeling pleased and slightly saddened that one has to go. Good, very good work.



thanks, glad you liked it - sounds like you got what I intended in these verses
---todd


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## Trides (Jun 4, 2011)

Bunch of different images here--the shore, the seabed, the people, the land. Love all this depressing grey, death, dryness, stone and "somber winter-frost." Wish I'd written it.


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## toddm (Jun 5, 2011)

Trides said:


> Bunch of different images here--the shore, the seabed, the people, the land. Love all this depressing grey, death, dryness, stone and "somber winter-frost." Wish I'd written it.



I appreciate the compliment - I am partial to melancholic scenes and moods myself - also partial to the term "melancholy" rather than "depressing" : )

---todd


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## Trides (Jun 5, 2011)

Eh, I like "melancholy" but I prefer "depressing," mostly because people call _me_ "depressing," so I have begun to think of anything "depressing" as familiar and benign... quite different from its actual meaning


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## toddm (Jun 5, 2011)

Trides said:


> Eh, I like "melancholy" but I prefer "depressing," mostly because people call _me_ "depressing," so I have begun to think of anything "depressing" as familiar and benign... quite different from its actual meaning



Many people I know equate melancholy with depression, but they are quite different in my mind - depression is a debilitating mental health condition, melancholy is more of a personality trait that has its positives and negatives like any of the other personality traits people have - then there is the very pleasant state of melancholy, akin to nostalgia and that unnameable longing for that which has no name...

It seems you are using the word depressing more in this vein

---todd


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## Trides (Jun 6, 2011)

toddm said:


> It seems you are using the word depressing more in this vein


 It seems you are correct


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## toddm (Jun 6, 2011)

Trides said:


> It seems you are correct



: ) well, I'm glad we got that cleared up -


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## Trides (Jun 6, 2011)

Oy, todd... if you aren't too busy, would you like to collaborate with me on some sort of poem or short story?


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## toddm (Jun 6, 2011)

Trides said:


> Oy, todd... if you aren't too busy, would you like to collaborate with me on some sort of poem or short story?


 
sure, PM me about it -

---todd


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## moonrise (Jun 9, 2011)

Todd, I think your genuis is very vivid and clear to all who care to observe. I have always been fascinated with the past. How things were long before I traversed this earth. I look on old black and white photos and attempt to picture then, time travel of sorts eh. Well uve done it for me. I was captivated.


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## Trides (Jun 9, 2011)

Todd, you like the word "behold," don't you?


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## toddm (Jun 10, 2011)

Trides said:


> Todd, you like the word "behold," don't you?



well, yes I suppose I do - I think I used it in three pieces I've posted here, maybe you've noticed more - it's a nice old fashioned little word

---todd


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## Jinxi (Jun 10, 2011)

What a magnificent poem todd. I was captivated from the very beginning and felt the sense of longing that you so beautifully described. The manner in which you say 'good-bye' was genius. Thank you!


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## Loulou (Jun 10, 2011)

Todd, beautiful rythmn here, just like the ebb and flow of the sea, of emotions.  I love watery themes.  One of my favourite themes.  Lovely.


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## toddm (Jun 10, 2011)

moonrise said:


> Todd, I think your genuis is very vivid and clear to all who care to observe. I have always been fascinated with the past. How things were long before I traversed this earth. I look on old black and white photos and attempt to picture then, time travel of sorts eh. Well uve done it for me. I was captivated.



I appreciate your kind comments, moonrise - I too love the past, and sometimes I think I was born 100 years too late - I do the same things with old pictures - if you ever find a real time machine let me know : )

---todd


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## toddm (Jun 10, 2011)

Loulou said:


> Todd, beautiful rythmn here, just like the ebb and flow of the sea, of emotions. I love watery themes. One of my favourite themes. Lovely.



Thanks LouLou, I love the sea too - I wish I lived in your little island kingdom of Great Britain : )

---todd


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