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Shared with Public blogged May 1, 2023
ALL IS QUIET
H. W. Bryce
Apr 13, 2023
All is quiet on the tortured front.
The façade is a picture of peace.
But insde, tranquility does a dance
Upon burning hot coals and a thirst,
The heart of the edifice wants to burst,
The dance floor craves music and a chance
To make music, to welcome all dancers in,
To revel in the company of you,
For life is always better with two.
The old dance hall looks out, but sighs within.
Yes, the façade is the smile without, but within
The welcome chairs sit empty, the view
Is stark walls, chairs are empty pews,
The psalms are stored in empty bins.
The only dance is taking a chance
To shake off all of depression’s dust,
Remember old dancing steps to bust
Out of old habits without a backward glance.
The façade is a picture of peace.
All is quiet, on the tortured front.
Image by MasterTux from Pixabay
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AuthorHello Robert Martens. Thanks much, my friend. You are always welcome here. Be well, Robert.
THE HOLLOW TREE
with SheLa Nefertiti Morrison
And H. W. Bryce
—
Stanley Park was so pristine and green, then,
The totem poles were speaking out,
And brother took me to the hollow tree,
And inside there we stood. Famous around the world,
People came and shot it with their click-click-clicks
To story it in photographic albums, and so did we.
We stood there in reverence, in awe to the
Mighty Maker, whose hand gave us forests,
Streams and seas. If only He had unscaled
Our eyes to see. For buffeting storms and
Ages old, wore on that old hollow tree, until,
Crippled, it was dressed in crutches, struts
And, yes, in a lot of good will. Until another
Storm took it down. Was the Mighty Maker
Begging us to see? Are we being eroded, too?
Reduced to pathetic, people took the remaining
Stump, garnished it in gold, precious bright
Yellow gold, and erected it outside the
Bank of Hong Kong—“Lucky Money” symbol
To the offshore tenants of an empty cluster
Of pricy condominiums now inhabitated by
Shadowy figures with good hearts—but now
Unseen by world tourists and countrymen
Alike. An empty gesture? A folklore not
Shared by all? Revered by the few, lost
To the many? Still hollow on the inside.
Are we being eroded?
One thing is for certain, though, to these
Eyes, it is garish; but to those who saved the
Hollow Tree, it is an entire philosophy.
Beauty remains in the eyes of the beholders.
And we, we honour that.
Image from Pinterest
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