NaPoWriMo Day 25: Echoes

 
Day 25 of the NaPoWriMo challenge at www.napowrimo.net.
 
Prompt: In her poem, senzo, Evie Shockley recounts the experience of being at a live concert, relating it the act of writing poetry. Today we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that recounts an experience of your own in hearing live music and tells how it moves you.
 
I went off-prompt for this one, remembering a holiday and standing among ancient rock formations. So, it’s all about sound, and the sound of the place, rather than a concert.

 
Echoes
 
Listen to the earth,
life’s time echo in the red,
deepset against a cyan sky.
Set feet deep, dig down,
synchronise so you’re in balance.
 
Listen to the earth’s drum,
a distinct roll, a heartbeat,
the raindance of the shaman
opening his hands to the cirrus clouds
feeling the weight of the wind.
 
Listen to the earth’s beat
in rhythm, like the eagle’s wings,
a sweeping eclipse of the soul.
In the still you can hear the echo,
the pump of blood through water.
 
Copyright Vickie Johnstone, April 25, 2025