ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Perspectives

The view in my memory will always be prime—
it seemed such a simpler and happier time.
They say you should not dwell on decades gone by,
yet ponder I do, and with rose-coloured eye.
The skies cerulean, the world at my feet,
I took at face value the people I’d meet.
There seemed more contentment, the future seemed bright,
each day full of promise and laughter and light,
evoked now through soft, misty veils of the past—
but time can’t stand still, nor such innocence last.

The view from my window right now seems so grey—
disasters, atrocities greet us each day.
The proof of man never appearing to learn
as skyscrapers shatter and great cities burn,
just skeletons now of what once they had been—
I flinch at each grim Armageddon-like scene.
It’s easy to picture a planet destroyed,
man’s careless neglect threatening imminent void.
Such senseless ambition for power and greed,
yet what is their purpose? What else could they need?

The views my heart chooses on which to reflect
are focussed on things we must never reject—
on everything decent and kind that will stand,
the smile of a stranger, the touch of a hand.
Though dreams can diminish in greyness of dawn
and man’s endless folly will leave us forlorn,
as long as the sunrise is painting the skies
in orange and pink, bringing joy to our eyes
and ten thousand stars glisten brightly above,
I’ll always believe there is hope. There is love.

© Catherine Lee, April 2022

Beautifully written Catherine. An emotional reflection of how so many of us must be feeling at this time.

Catherine, In my view you have produced yet another skilfully written poem with "Perspectives". The Muse has perhaps returned to you with a vengeance?

Looking at your rhymes I believe that you have created some interesting and good ones that complement and empower (trendy term) what you are saying. Those rhymes sit comfortably in the poem. (btw I also spell grey with an "e" .ha).

Perspectives is brief ... and that facilitates both conveying your message and holding the reader's attention. Well it did for me. One is therefore, in a busy world, encouraged to take the time to read it! Your amazing vocabulary is never lacking and you seem to call on words with ease to express what you want to say. A conversation with you might therefore be a bit overwhelming! ha
Anyway, your verse is never bland, seeming at times to dance here and there while at the same time creating a vivid mind-picture for the reader.. if that makes sense.

It is clear to me that you passionately believe in what you are saying in Perspectives. I think I am right in saying that?
Yes, our youth was perhaps a time of innocence.. and things sort of go downwards from there, don't they?

Your last line offering Hope and Love as an eternal solution (as well as the unchanging beauty of nature) is special and demonstrates a poet's perception.

Personally I solve it all by not watching the news. Turn it off. Then I may be labelled as unknowing/uncaring about world events (which are all bad news ..if they are reported accurately which never happens) but it allows me to contentedly live in my state of ignorant bliss.. which I think keeps one forever young! and not frowning too much. ha

I really am thrilled to see another poem of yours contributed here, Catherine. You write such lovely poetry and this one really made my day. Gary

Thank you so much, David and Gary. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and yes, I think you’re right about how people have been feeling, David. I joined a social media page early on in the pandemic, which takes everyone back to those ‘simpler times’ I refer to and it has brought me so much joy and nostalgia over the past two years. I know others have felt the same because it swiftly went from a target of 100 members to now over 20,000!
Gary, once again you have really made my day with your generous praise and encouragement – thank you! One thing I can assure you of however, is that my conversation would not be overwhelming in the slightest, ha! In fact, it would probably disappoint you greatly, especially these days when my memory lets me down so often and I can’t find the right words at the right time, resulting in my immense frustration! …Yes, I do believe in keeping the faith and maintaining hope – a tad idealistic perhaps, but that’s always been me. Having said that, I too confess to often avoiding the news reports these days, especially when I can tell there is bias so I rarely believe every single thing I see and hear in the media.
Thank you both so much for your very warm and encouraging words.

Hi Catherine
As David has already said this is a beautifully written poem and so in tune with the world today.
I liked the whole poem, but in particular loved the opening stanza.
Another thing I admire about how you approach a poem, is that you always put a lot of thought into them.
Even with homework you take pride in what you write and I applaud that, wish I had the same dedication!

IMO, this is a poem well worth expanding a little and putting into a comp, although I sometimes find that once I've written a short poem,
it's quite hard to improve it, and it also sometimes seems to take away from what you have already written - perhaps that's just me?

Terry

Hi Terry, Thank you so much for your beautiful words, which I appreciate more than you know - to think that I come through like this to you is both deeply rewarding and immensely encouraging! ….Yes, I think you’re right about the shorter poems – sometimes they can be worked well into longer ones and sometimes not, but I will certainly think about what you’ve said here. Thanks so much once again for your very kind comments.

Ah yes! you have said it all there Catherine in Three beautiful stanzas! and made great use of the prompts in such a concise, profound perspective of time, and the world in which we live.
I think there is a lot to be said for keeping a poem short and being able to fill it with meaning! and to me that is exactly what you have done. Brilliant!
I have reread it many times and found it thought provoking and a real pleasure to read. Thank you.
Ron

Oh wow, thank you so much, Ron! It's funny, but I was attempting another verse at the last minute and then decided I'd said enough, so your comments about the poem being short, concise and meaningful are especially appreciated. Thank you once again, you have really made me smile this morning!

WOW! So powerful, so moving and every line punches above its weight. You've excelled with this one Catherine - Well done.

Wow - thank you so much, Maureen! xx