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The Past is Now

Though fallen leaves we use as imagery

of endings - dying,  in reality
leaf mould feeds the roots that bud the tree -
and where is Death in this?  Nor can I see
an ending or discontinuity.

Reconstituted, nothing's ever gone -

transformed into the present, it goes on. 

And, just so, isn't all of history
still here, re-formed, in all we touch and see

and eat and breathe - and are - for are not we
the present form of past humanity?
A thousand thousand forebears live in me
as I will live within futurity.

What was, now is - and will go on to be.

To say what's past is lost's a falsity -

it has not passed - it's  here. Reality

is now its present form. 

(but still I grieve

each Autumn

when the oak and elm unleave.)

 

 

 

 

Author notes

jimmy20johns

In a list

A contest entry

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Comments

1 - 30 of 30

  • Ellis gold member
    November 17
    Edit | Reply

    In this Universe FORM is everything

    http://allpoetry.com/poem/1557534


  • maktub
    October 6

    Edit | Reply
    In a sense I agree...everything is constantly in cycle. We can see this in nature, and if we observe life developing (as you noted, history) we see this cycle...
    It brings to mind, for me....yes, we are 'the present form of past humanity', and some day, yes someone else will be us, but isn't amazing to observe how we are molded by history, and it lives on as us, and then at the same time....we continue history even more by repeating it...and in turn another will repeat us, and the cycle goes on and on and on...

    And that makes me think again...though I may live on in that stated future circling sense, we all experience a sort of death, because my body will die...
    Couldn't that very well make it possible that there is an afterlife beyond never ending repitition, and that there is a God who started the dominoes falling across the table?
    That maybe someday this domino (myself) will fall down and off, and perhaps the whole line will plummet off the edge into eternity (heaven or hell), also? Perhaps....it looks like repition because all those dominoes are doing the same thing as they tip over, but that there is an end result beyond what seems an infinite figure 8.

    Regardless, I express about this piece, as I have expressed regarding all of your other work that I have read...amazingly well done, pleasing to both the ear and the mind.
    Smile♫
    Rachel


    • jimmy20johns gold member
      October 6
      Edit | Reply
      Sorry to come back yet again - but I just want to say that what intrigues me is the concept established by that law in physics which states that nothing can be either lost from or added to what exists in the universe - only the forms can be changed (energy to matter and one form of matter to another). Therefor everything that was in the beginning is what is now and will be. Even more poetically intriguing is the corollary fact that, as most of the elements in our very bodies can only be formed in the life-cycle of suns (and have reached here as debris of those suns when they nova-ed)we are, therefor, made of stardust. Wow! jimmy

      • maktub
        October 6
        Edit | Reply
        Wow...that truly is utterly fascinating...
        No, don't be sorry, I love that...what I may not have learned if you had not.
        Nothing can be lost from or added to, and yet it all comes from somewhere...I don't let it bother me too much, because I've yet to get farther than basking in the wonders I encounter day to day, and connecting these with each other, but still...it makes me wonder, for instance, where did the stardust come from? What part of history was it originally?

        It makes me smile, though...call it childish, but I cannot help but enjoy the innocent joy of it...I am stardust...
        Smile♫
        Rachel

  • maa gold member
    September 13

    Edit | Reply
    I looooooooooooove this poem !
    not only have you offered us a precious lesson of the karmic cycle here, but also, you have the humility and wisdom to admit that knowing Truth does not make us insensible and invulnerable :

    "but still I grieve each Autumn
    when the oak and elm unleave"

    sigh ...
    that's it ...

    happy to meet you !
    marion


  • Shya
    June 30

    Edit | Reply
    Wow! Definitely thought-provoking, and it challenges what most people believe. A true poem. Well-written too; each line flows to the next. Good job.

  • Rain Dancer
    June 20

    Edit | Reply
    This was a very strong piece, it held my attention, and brought up very relevant ideas. Thanks for the entry!

  • SafeRefuge
    June 11
    Edit | Reply
    If you are going to enter my contest I would appreciate it if you would follow the rules. You are lacking in your Author's Notes:
    ~Main Idea of the Poem
    ~Any further explanation as to why you choose that subject (not required, but it helps)
    ~Tell if it is supposed to rhyme or not

  • Pisces rainbow
    June 3

    Edit | Reply

    VERY LOVELY

    THE CYCLE OF LIFE

    VERY WISE AND VERY TRUE

    EXCELLENT CREATION MY FRIEND.

    GOD BLESS...


  • I Am Gun
    May 28

    Edit | Reply
    this was gorgeous.
    I love the imagery it held me from the very begining...great job and keep writing

  • Cesarean
    May 2

    Edit | Reply
    Very nice, I believe that's Einsteins theory too about energy never going away so no one ever really dies. Very uplifting yet somber all at once. Thanks for sharing.


  • aslanlight
    April 22

    Edit | Reply
    Oh yes excellent, rarely have I read a poem of such understanding and hope. I empahthise deeply with your profound reasoning that nothing ever dies.

    Peace Georgia


  • sleepingINblackRain
    March 27
    Edit | Reply
    It seems like the tree of life, this was a very beautiful write thanks for entering

  • EarthToJim
    March 12

    Edit | Reply
    Nope, I can prove this is wrong. Open a bag of cookies. Eat all the cookies. Wait for nature to replace the cookies. That last step is always so disappointing. When they're gone, they're gone!

  • hilly
    February 2
    Edit | Reply
    That last part was my favorite, I'm a little disappointed that it's not all yours.

  • second-born
    January 25

    Edit | Reply
    "in reality
    leaf mould feeds the roots that bud the tree -
    and where is Death in this?" This is really good...and it makes me ponder about life in general...thanks you for sharing a fantastic piece...and I like the ending...

  • Sekhmet Kitty
    January 24
    Edit | Reply
    good to know you read the rules


  • Sekhmet Kitty
    January 24

    Edit | Reply
    I like this poem and you said great things about time and the happenings of time but you have forgotten something in your authors notes. Will come back after you have found it and fixed it.

  • lindaburns
    January 18
    Edit | Reply
    I was set to make you one of my finalists but your silver trophy posted.

  • celadia
    January 18

    Edit | Reply

    Wow

    This was extraordinary, so intellectual and it made me think because I hadn't seen things like this before. Phenominal effort.

  • juno0404
    January 15

    Edit | Reply
    "What was, now is - and will go on to be.
    To say what's past is gone's a falsity -
    it has not passed - it's here. Reality
    is just its present form. Yet still I grieve
    each Autumn when the oak and elm unleave."

    Very well written, beautiful imagery,nice flow.


  • BarefootSoul
    January 15

    Edit | Reply
    Your poems title caught me as I am in deep study of spirit. Your words are so carefully chosen and speak of universal truth. Life is a cycle that never ends and though there must be an end may we also rethink how the beauty/harshness of that end can be transformed. Love the word futurity

    . Rewarded 6


  • Ashleigh London
    January 14

    Edit | Reply
    Oh my, this was gorgeous. The rhyming is what really got me because it is so creative... the word choice was just excellent here... thank you for this sensational entry... I must say though, even if it's just another plain background, this poem deserves better than just a purple background! Good luck.

  • Sagerider
    January 14
    Edit | Reply

    Thought provoking

    As usual your poems make mine look like rough cobbles among gem stones.
  • soothplayer
    January 14

    Edit | Reply
    What a beautiful poem. The cycle/ the circle of life is innate in all of life. I love the rhythm and am curious whether when you write, the rhyming flows out unheeded or it is thought through etc? I am inspired by your poetry, in my daily work, myth and story plays a huge part so for me, 'a thousand thousand forebears live in me, as i will within futurity' is a beautiful line.


    • jimmy20johns gold member
      January 14
      Edit | Reply
      Many thanks for your comment my friend. For me the discipline of rhyme (and meter) drives the phrasing and clarifies for me the essence of the poem's meaning. I believe that to attempt to create
      any piece of artwork is to embark on a journey of discovery - the process revealing to the poet, painter etc. what had previously been only vaguely conceived. It is this PROCESS that is Art - the resulting poem, drawing etc. is its product - a work OF art. Thank you again for taking the time to read and comment. Cheers, jimmy
      P.S. Should you be interested, I've since developed/cleaned up this poem,
  • Yvette Champ
    January 14

    Edit | Reply
    The title is apt as an introduction and as a summary of the poem.The poem explores the notion that there is but one continuous ocean, the past is presented as part and parcel of the present and begs the question where is Death in this within this continuum of petit mort,small death of the leaf, it falls to the ground and enriches the soil and from the soil there is new growth, whatever will grow next will also return to the ground...
    The poem has a freeflowing rhythm and both questions and answers itself,a well written piece full of tangents that do not get tangled. Am unsure why the last two lines were written with different italics but it did not detract from the piece.

1 - 30 of 30