"are we not explorers..." ©

 i

are we not the explorers of consciousness

standing on the edge of a desert

 

or a shoreline facing out to the ocean

the poems we have written in the sand

 

have been washt away by the waves

& other poems have been divined from the shapes of the clouds

 

& read to the wind   standing on the edge of sleep

we hear the sound of the wind

 

it is possible to drift at sea

for several lifetimes & not see land

 

or human settlement   it is also possible

not to miss people at all

 

on this voyage we sometimes sail over

lost civilizations   they are hidden beneath

 

coral & seaweed   their silence is not

as great as the empty sky

 

an empty sky in which

we place a flock of red winged blackbirds

 

flying suddenly up from a marsh

& another empty sky which is innocent of clouds

 

& holds nothing but the illumination of stars

 ii

 we stand at the end of the world & watch the sea

watch the waves & the big dipper

 

our new life is here   contained within the old

which falls away like a shell or blossoms

 

from a tree   or like a dead star

falling into the ocean

By Stephen Morrissey

First published in "The Trees of Unknowing", 1978 and again printed in "Mapping the Soul" Selected poems 1978 - 1998, published by The Muses Company, 1998.

Poet Stephen Morrissey was born in Montreal, Canada, of Irish descent dating back to the early 1800's. His poetry is rooted in historical time and place, as well as in the individual's family life and consciousness. Stephen Morrissey teaches literature and humanities at Champlain College. He lives in Montreal with his partner Carolyn Zonailo.

His published books of poetry include the following:

• The Trees of Unknowing (1978)

• Divisions (1983)

• Family Album (1989)

• The Compass (1993)

• The Yoni Rocks (1995)

• The Mystic Beast (1997)

Stephen Morrissey website: www.stephenmorrissey.ca