Time for Prosery [not poetry] in the friendly dVerse Poets Pub. Merril is our host and provides us with this line from Nan Shepherd's "The Hill Burns" ~ from 'In The Cairngorms' (Edinburgh: The Moray Press, 1934}
The granites and schists of my dark and stubborn country
I notice the shimmer first .. the granites and schists of my dark and stubborn country. A strange glitter appears along the horizon, as though America itself has been polished.
WARNING: schist shines because its minerals have been crushed until they MUST align, forced into place by unimaginable strain.
Leaders, different as bands running through the stone .. one sort pressing downward, tightening laws, dimming truths until people feel themselves flattening .. losing their natural shape.
The other lifting pressure, turning layers gently, allowing old minerals to breathe, the new to grow .. understanding schist's beauty comes not from pressure, but from survival.
Broken things arranging themselves into a new order, never forgetting what came before. The question .. silent, and heavy as stone, whether we become a radiant testament to endurance .. or crack along our deepest layers.
Because schist never lies, it reveals everything.
This is BRILLIANT!!!!
ReplyDeleteA news article today in Boston reported this: four people were taken out of line outside Faneul Hall. They'd been waiting to enter for the naturalization ceremony/program where they were to become citizens. They'd studied, passed the tests, filled out all the forms etc....done everything and they were bursting with pride because they would enter this historical hall, take the oath of citizenship and then celebrate with family and friends. BUT, they were taken out of line and told they were not being accepted as citizens. Their names had been removed from the list and this would not be happening for them. It turns out they were originally from a country on the list of 19 that Trump recently published indicating the US would no longer take immigrants from these countries. One of the 4 had been in the country for 40 years. How absolutely cruel and heartless. One wonders if now there would be deportation orders for them....since their only crime would be living in this country illegally....even though they'd been probably 30 minutes away from taking the oath of citizenship. There is something very very wrong in this country. I can't believe this is what people voted for....they voted to have "rapists and murderers" deported from this country and to have stricter vetting at the border itself. They did not vote for this. It is so very very sad....and cruel.
It is horrible, and I suspect illegal, though Scotus won't say so.
DeleteThis is all so sad.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful metaphor, Helen. I hope the radiance becomes a testament to endurance and not cracking. Ben Franklin remarked about the sun on George Washington's chair at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that he didn't know if it was rising or setting, but he hoped it was rising.
ReplyDeleteHelen, wonderful writing and polishing of the term. This part speaks to me:
ReplyDelete"schist's beauty comes not from pressure, but from survival.
Broken things arranging themselves into a new order,"
What a shining example of prosery - Jae
ReplyDeleteOh you went all scientific, very interesting
ReplyDeleteMuch♡love
I love the schist as a metaphor... it reminds me of the obsession with glitter and gold for some.... everything should shine, and oppresion create that faked glitter to enjoy when seen from above.
ReplyDeleteschist shines because its minerals have been crushed until they MUST align, - this says a lot about why grit is important in life.
ReplyDeleteA poet who knows her geology - way to go Helen...
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful, and the metaphor works so well, a sober reminder.
ReplyDelete