Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Du Gamia, Du Fria


image from users.stlcc.edu


Du Gamia, Du Fria

“You love & lose & bleed best you can, to the extreme, hoping
that one day the world will read you like the poem you want
to be.”--Charlotte Eriksson.

I hear it now: Thou Ancient, Thou Free,
though I’ve never been, ever the absentee.
I think of prehistoric Svealand,
before Beowulf, even before the Viking,

before patriots an anthem could sing,
Remembering when the land was covered in ice.
I hear it now: Thou Ancient, Thou Free,
though I’ve never been, ever the absentee.

After the great lakes receded & hunters could
roam vast forests for red deer, moose, & firewood,
& petroglyphs appeared in caves of gneiss,
remembering when the land was covered in ice.

I hear it now: Thou Ancient, Thou Free,
though I’ve never been, ever the absentee.


Glenn Buttkus


Bjorn wants us to write to images of Swedish petroglyphs. I wrote a Sonnetina Rispetto.

16 comments:

brudberg said...

I think the petroglyphs might reverberate from a time when the land was pristine, when the forests vast, and the rivers wild.. a very nice interpretation Glenn... indeed before a nation or the Vikings.

Mary said...

Humankind certainly has come a distance..I wonder what it would have been like to be that wild and free.

tonispencer said...

Excellent! One of your very best. I read this with tears in my eyes. This style suits you very well. And I went all free verse!

Marina Sofia said...

The repetition and melodiousness of this poem is just gorgeous - and I love that sense of space and wildness. That absenteeism gave me pause for thought, too - the lands that were never empty.

Grace said...

Reads like an ancient hymn, almost a prayer for the land covered in ice ~

And terrific use of the form Glenn~

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Absolutely wonderful....!! One of my favorites :D

Hannah said...

Goodness...this has a musicality to it that made it a joy to read! Thank you!

Bodhirose said...

I'm not familiar with this form, Glenn, but the repetition within it was quite striking in describing the time. I liked the line "before patriots an anthem to sing." Now that was a long time ago, because we know how people love to sing their anthems. Excellent, Glenn.

cartlandsader@gmail.com said...

Lovely approach. It feels wistful while also engaging.

Unknown said...

"I hear it now: Thou Ancient, Thou Free,
though I’ve never been, ever the absentee." Oh, the cadence to this is simply lovely! Another meaningful write. Beautiful.

Truedessa said...

Glenn, This has a chant like feel I could hear distant drums. Yes, I could drum a bit to this.

"I hear it now: Thou Ancient, Thou Free,

Katie Mia Frederick said...

Ah..
petroglpyhs
Glenn.. pen
is of Shaman
wordless
image
strong as
Shaman
now where
Shaman
still dares
to dance
tall and erect
as sacred trickster
and warrior too.. oh..
what is forgotten is still
remembered by some on
the walls of then and some
flesh and blood photos today..
in it.. in doing it.. real now.. spirituality
and lust and creativity are one whole soup
of human magic then and the real deal now..
with the warrior/trickster/shaman sacred
stuff IS mixed in
then and now.. too
for so long
i am absent..
my friend Glenn..
but seriously
i'm here
now..
sMiLeS..
i knew that only you and
me will even be brave enough
to utter the world phallus
as it is obviously the
core of
what
most of
the art is
about.. the
core of human
creativity that
drives all stuff
human imagination
and dreams to fruition
dry or wet they are the
REAL
DEAL..
smiles again..
to learn to
employ it
in
moderation
and balance
as a perfect
practice of
ART..
is the
real
magic
pArt of
human creativity..
set free as potential..
So who will dare to do
it in full purview now..
a few still
Will and DO..
in the greater
freer human
naked
dance
of LIFE..:)

Sumana Roy said...

very evocative...could visualize the pristine world with these ancient souls....

Anonymous said...

Wondrous, love that you've focused on 'what came before'.

kaykuala said...

Their reputation preceded them though one has yet to see them. An artistic adventure it sustains itself for a long time!

Hank

Anonymous said...

A chant, a song a benediction to those hardy souls.