Poetry

Unholy Sonnet 42 – Mark Jarman

Instead, you can walk backwards into life— Undo your steps and gain ground as you […]

Ethan Richardson / 10.29.15

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Instead, you can walk backwards into life—
Undo your steps and gain ground as you yield,
As long as ground remains beneath your feet.
It’s like one way of wading into surf,
Putting the swell behind you as it breaks.
The other is to take life diving under
With eyes shut tight until it washes over.
Either way, if you don’t want to face
The world mounting towards you, wave on wave,
Or setting up its obstacles perversely,
You can make a virtue of reversal
Or submission. Then, perhaps, you’ll have
That certain feeling of being vaguely shepherded
Or that someone somewhere knows where you are headed.

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COMMENTS

3 responses to “Unholy Sonnet 42 – Mark Jarman”

1. Alison White says:

   10/29/2015 at 12:50 pm

   How, O God, do inanimate words placed together in a certain form and fashion move, hurt, heal, love, touch the human heart. No way for me to know for sure. Regardless, I thank you, God, for these moments.

   Reply
2. David Zahl says:

   10/30/2015 at 11:18 am

   Good lord that’s a great poem.

   Reply
3. Bryan J. says:

   10/30/2015 at 11:53 am

   This’ll preach! Beautiful stuff!

   Reply