Looking from the Dark Side
Captured by mystic voices that speak in a foreign tongue.
I tune in and then tune out because I can’t understand.
Feel small and helpless, like I’m sitting on the moon looking back at Earth.
Resting far from home in this desolate place. Cold and dark. Alone.
So far away, there is no reason to reach out. To do so would be pointless.
Silence surrenders to muffled voices. Can’t escape them because they are mine.
I tune in and then tune out because I can’t understand.
The ground beneath me is hard, sandy and foreign. The winds are silent.
Wonder how I got to this place and dimly recall a journey. Seems a long time ago; another lifetime. Was that even me?
I remember moving forward through a fog only to open my eyes here. Why wasn’t I watching? How did I get lost?
The Earth is a small, beautiful blue green ball, beckoning from the dark expanse of space. Glowing.
How is it that I’ve come so far from home? I stretch an arm out towards Earth but know she is out of reach.
The sight of her sends a shiver across my chest and down my arms. I feel a mysterious, yet familiar warmth.
What a beautiful view. Think I’ll stay for a while.
Photo Credit: Dictybloke
Linda
Barbara Swafford
Deb Dorchak
Tony Single
Chris Edgar
Sara
Jeffrey Willius
Doug Gene
{ 21 comments }
Beautiful, Davina. Just beautiful.
I have felt just like this. It may be dark out here where I sit, but sometimes I just need a little space and a little perspective. And I’m sure that as long as I remain looking back at earth, I won’t be lost to the dark’s far reaches for good.
That’s what I see in what you’ve written anyway. I’m enamoured. :)
.-= Tony Single´s last blog ..These I Love =-.
Beautiful. I wish I could reach out across time and space and quietly sit down beside you right now.
.-= Janice | Sharing the Journey´s last blog ..Writers Write (Revisited): Your Comments are Part of Your Writing Mosaic =-.
Hi Tony.
Hey, thanks. Yes, it really is about perspective and stepping out of yourself sometimes to see things from a different angle. Getting out of your head, so to speak; hence those muffled voices that sometimes never let up. Sometimes we feel separated by them, but we’ve really just forgotten where we are. Nothing like sitting on the hard ground to bring you back :-)
Hi Janice.
Oh, don’t worry… I’m fine — thank you :-) Sorry, I should have mentioned that I wrote 75% of this about 15 years ago after a dream I had. I tweaked a lot of it and added in the last few lines as an afterthought. Last night I was flipping through old journals of mine and saw this. It illustrated perfectly those moods that sweep in sometimes that seem to take over our lives. And, how the simple act of appreciating something can be enough to change perspective.
Thanks, Davina, that is beautiful! I like the idea of stepping out of yourself to see things from a different angle too in your comments back to Tony and Janice. We all need to change perspective sometimes!
.-= Julie Walraven | Resume Services´s last blog ..What’s Holding YOU Back #4 – Paralysis by Analysis =-.
It’s beautiful, and even more beautiful – keeping old journals, reading them, and using the material in them. Loved this post.
Davina,
very nice words and writing and they match up with the picture so well – it is wonderful when things mess. One other thing I threw out last year was all my old writing journal – especially from college, I did not want my children to find me thus
Thank you for tweaking and sharing
.-= patricia´s last blog ..Ecotopia ~ Ernest Callenbach, A Relook at an Inspiring Book =-.
Davina, thank you for this blog and the beautiful title. I very much appreciate your reminder that sacred does not always have to equal sunny, and that it is often in the dark spaces, in the dark moments, that we touch our deepest insights. I also love that you revived your words from an old journal – I, too, have been flipping through old notes and recollections, and understanding that some of those hidden-away words are ready now to step into the sunlight of a new existence. I am new to your blog, and look forward to visiting again. Warm wishes from the mountains of Japan – Catrien Ross.
.-= Catrien Ross´s last blog ..Catrien Ross on Blasting Mount Fuji to Bits – Does Live-Fire Artillery Count As a Spiritual Distraction? =-.
Hi Julie.
Thanks. It is important to be able to step out of the one perspective; to not be so engrossed in it. I guess in a way, this makes a person more able to see that they aren’t their problem; they are separate from it.
Hi Vered.
Thank you. Do you have old journals? They are a hoot to read back through years later. I find that although I’ve grown and learned a lot, there are some things that are unchanged. I’m curious to see if you notice that too.
Hi Patricia.
Isn’t that a gorgeous photo? I LOVE it! Sounds like you have some college stories to tell :-)
Hi Catrien
Thanks for stopping to read and comment — welcome. Wow, Japan! My brother would love to visit your country. Isn’t it a neat experience to read your words from years ago and see how much your perspective has changed? It’s like something is reading you a story only it’s your story and you are doing the reading :)
Hi Davina – Gorgeous words. I don’t know if you were writing about what it’s like to be in a period of transition, but you captured it perfectly for me. I’ve spent my share of time in that lost place, and I love how you say, “I’ll stay awhile.” So often it’s making the choice to stay awhile that actually precedes moving out of it.
.-= Patty – Why Not Start Now?´s last blog ..At the End of the Day, A Poem About Happiness =-.
Hi Davina,
So what you’re saying is, you’ve always had the gift for words. This is a beautiful, moving piece. Although I don’t have any old journals, I do know what you mean about some things changing, and some remaining the same.
.-= Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..Oh Please, Dont Tell Me I Need To Learn This =-.
Davina — I loved this poem. Wonderful imagery. I really liked the perspective of looking towards Earth and how you end the poem with Earth turning the shivers into warmth.
To me, this poem feels like that moment right before you break through something difficult. You’re a bit scared and yet you can see the new view off in the horizon. If I dare say so, I think I would have named this poem “transformation.” Thanks for sharing it:~)
.-= Sara´s last blog ..The Nature of the Beast =-.
Hi Davina. How beautifully written.
Journals are treasure boxes of questions, memories, frustrations and joys, circumstances that threaten and some that we overcome, and thoughts-worked-through. Even ah-ha moments sprinkle our writing.
I started my blog because I wanted to do something with all the writing I have done in my journals over the years. I’m delighted to see I’m in such good company here — among you and your readers. :)
It’s good to share……..
.-= Barb Hartsook´s last blog ..We Live Where Our Focus Is =-.
Hi Davina .. I’ve always loved those pictures of earth taken by astronauts or satellites – or whatever!! It just looks a magical welcoming place ..
Your story writing + tweakings work so well .. and it’s wonderful how you start cold and miserable, but end up warm and cosy .. enjoying the view, space and time to think .. Tinkerbell will bring you home.
Great read .. thank you .. We may feel cold, but we don’t need to and shouldn’t … we are lucky to be here on earth, lucky to be human, and lucky to be able to think … Hilary
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..Women – how much education have women had in the past 2,000 years? =-.
Hi Patty.
“So often it’s making the choice to stay awhile that actually precedes moving out of it.” Wow, I love that! I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes perfect sense. That IS what happens. I think when you are in that lost place you describe, you are disconnected; or can be for a number of reasons: you’re resisting or you don’t recognize that you have transitioned and you are in a “new world”.
Hi Barbara.
Thank you :-) BWAB is your journal right? I guess you could compare reading old journals to looking at old photographs too. They take you back to that familiar place you recognize as having remained unchanged for you.
Hi Sara.
Thanks. I’ve always enjoyed the perspective of looking back at the Earth — she’s a beautiful planet. I like how you’ve described this period of change. I believe we transform on other less subtle levels (emotionally) and our mind can be the last to catch up.
Hi Barb.
I’m glad you enjoyed this blast from my past :-) Journals ARE a treasure box — I agree. “Ah-ha moments sprinkle our writing” — yeah! And they aren’t lost as easily when they’re placed in our journals. You’ve just made me realize that reading through old journals inspires NEW ah-hah moments too. Cool!
Hi Hilary.
Me too! Magical, yes. The Earth is a beautiful planet. The hard ground and the cold has a tendency to wake you up :-) And, you won’t stay there very long, that’s for sure — what I mean is, when you see something to appreciate, you forget all about the discomfort. You’re welcome, glad to have taken you on the trip.
Davina,
Thanks for sharing this beautiful excerpt of your journal.
I like the concept of getting away of something (or somebody) in order to appreciate it right now.
All the best,
Boris
Love it and I agree with Vered about old journals. I have so many and have been in a slump for a couple of weeks. I said to my hubs this morning…I need to take two hours a day with my journal each morning until I can move back into the sunny side of life…mama said there’d be days like this;)
.-= Tess The Bold Life´s last blog ..The Rewards of Honoring Commitments =-.
Hi Davina — I like the surreal, dreamlike quality of this — I wonder whether this was inspired by a dream.
Davina,
What an awesome picture, like all the ones you find.
Yes, sitting on the moon to have self reflection sounds good to me.
When you are ready, the earth will welcome you back with open arms.
I am glad you saved your journals, to reread and share them.
Hi Boris.
You’re welcome. Yes, sometimes you can’t appreciate something just from one angle. You have to get a different vantage point.
Hi Tess.
You’re in a writing slump? Those are frustrating aren’t they? We can write about how to work through writer’s block, but when it actually lands it seems to have evolved past our old ways of dealing with it. At least in my experience. I like the idea of taking two hours a day with your journal; that sounds like a vacation. Hmm, I wonder what you’ll come up with….
Hi Chris.
Yes, this was inspired by a dream; you’re absolutely right. It is surreal isn’t it?
Hi Jim.
I love this picture too. Seem to be so lucky with finding them, though sometimes I have to spend more time. This one took about 15 min to find. I’m glad I saved my journals too…
You’ve always written well. This is beautiful!
And a lovely gift of a planet we have, shining through your words.
Hi Jannie.
Thank you. Earth is inspiring :-)
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