One Single Impression -- Seven Sins

immune to prayer
-unlike gods-
implacable nature
punishes sins,
greed and pride,
with civilizations'
demise.


"sins against nature" by sgreerpitt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://sunflowerroots.blogspot.com/.

Check out the poetry of other writers responding to this prompt at One Single Impression.

It has been more than a year (one year and three months almost to the day) since I last posted a poem for One Single Impression. I'm not entirely sure why I stopped. This morning, I decided it was time to get those creative juices flowing again. When I went to the OSI site, however, I was a bit dismayed at this week's prompt "seven sins," as I don't believe in "sin" in any conventional sense, nor in a parent-like god that personally assigns punishments in some afterlife for sinful behavior.

My belief is in a transcendent, omnipresent, everlasting power in the universe that is expressed through an inexorable physics of matter and energy that governs all activity and relationships. In this universe actions have consequences, some positive, some negative, some devastatingly destructive and some breathtakingly creative. There are no excuses, no pardons, no exceptions, no bargains to be struck or deals to be made. We either work with the power of the universe or we struggle against it. We can fool ourselves - indeed whole civilizations can fool themselves - thinking that we can do whatever we want, because consequences in reality are often incremental and slow, and do not manifest themselves until years, even centuries later.

I'm not just talking about man's relationship to the physical world, although that is upper most in my mind at the moment. This applies in to human interaction as well. There are universal issues and conditions, cooperation, trust, honesty, competition, sharing, exchange, truthfulness, and many others, that operate in the same inexorable way. To gain trust, one must trust, and behave in a trustworthy manner; violate these principles and trust erodes and disappears.

So on reading the prompt, I thought, perhaps it's time to think about a new set of seven "sins", related to these laws of the universe. However, after pursuing Wikipedia's discussion of the Catholic Church's seven deadly sins, I've decided that properly understood the original list really does encompass all the things I'd been thinking about.

working on our night moves - OSI

Moon rise over the mountain,
a fresh spring wind in the woods,
through the camera lens,
my spirit breaks free,
clean, light, unencumbered by
aching joints or uncertain steps,
and dances into the dark night.

© sgreerpitt
Saturday March 27, 2010

For other poems on the theme "avatar" see One Single Impression March 27-April 3.
Photograph taken 9:00 PM Saturday March 27, 2010, 8" exposure, 4x magnification.

One Single Impression -- Sunny Days

sunshine on the far hill
edging down, lighting the woods
at last hits our yard.

©sgreerpitt
Sunday January 24, 2010

For more poems on the theme "sunny days" see One Single Impression.

Photo from this winter's first snow December 6, 2009

One Single Impression -- Departed

Depart from me
so I may know
the joy
of your return.

Some distance and
a little space
within which
love may grow;
sunlight and
some tender tears
nourish the vine
that twines
our hearts,
strengthing the bonds
of love.

©sgreerpitt
Saturday November 7, 2009

for more poems on this prompt see One Single Impression

One Single Impression -- Shift in Time

the past is within,
beyond memory,
embedded in every cell,
every muscle fiber,
kinetic response.
playing a waltz,
riding a bike,
painting a portrait--
perfectly;
the vision flows
through fingertips
to brush, to canvas,
without conscious knowledge,
after years of dormancy,
skill returns
hesitant at first,
then bursting forth,
tying past and present
moments of creativity
into one
existing outside
of time.

©sgreerpitt
Saturday October 31, 2009



For the thoughts of other poets on the prompt "shift in time" see One Single Impression.

Photograph/painting of Brandi Bee by ©sgreerpitt 2009.

One Single Impression -- Elusive

elusive

searching for
that flash of scarlet in misty woods,
an indigo bunting on the fence wire,
reflections of autumn across the lake,
and
just the right words
to make you see
your worth
to me.

©sgreerpitt
Thursday October 29, 2009



Happy anniversary to my husband, John.

The top photo was taken in the late afternoon on the Virginia side of Pound Gap off U.S. 23, on Friday October 24, the lower photo was taken Saturday October 25, 2009 just after dawn at Fish Pond Lake in Letcher County, Kentucky.

One Single Impression -- Conquer

I shall not
conquer fear;
instead
shall court,
engage and learn,
thus grow within
fear’s embrace
and dance,
vibrant,
alive.

©sgreerpitt
Sunday October 18, 2009

When I first began to think about this week's prompt, several common phrases popped into my head "conquer fear" and "conquered by love." The on-line dictionary gave the meanings of the word conquer as:

1. to acquire by force of arms; win in war: to conquer a foreign land.
2. to overcome by force; subdue: to conquer an enemy.
3. to gain, win, or obtain by effort, personal appeal, etc.: conquer the hearts of his audience.
4. to gain a victory over; surmount; master; overcome: to conquer disease and poverty; to conquer one's fear.

As I thought about these meanings and these common phrases, I became uncomfortable with the connotations. Is love that "conquers" really love? Should love subdue or surmount us? Should we really wish to master and overcome fear? Doesn't a certain amount of fear keep us wary and safe? If we think we have "conquered" fear, perhaps all we've done is driven it underground, suppressed it -- repressed it -- where it will surely do more damage that out in the open and recognized.

For other, worthier poems on the prompt "Conquer" see One Single Impression.

One Single Impression -- Talisman

she wore her heart
on her sleeve,
embroidered scarlet
in crewel yarn,
a talisman
to ward off suitors
whose reality
might breach
her boundaries,
sweep away her
illusion of control,
replacing genuine passion
for lovelorn fantasy.

©sgreerpitt
Saturday October 10, 2009

I did, in point of fact, embroider a red heart on the sleeve of my denim work shirt in college, a reaction to a something a young man said to me. Although I did not recognize what the talisman meant at that time.

For other poems on the prompt "talisman" see One Single Impression.

Art work by sgreerpitt.

One Single Impression -- Descent

Autumn=Fall=Descent

angle of sun
creeps slowly towards
the horizon,
afternoons shorten,
shadows lengthen
cross lawns;
summer greens
fade as
first one leaf
then another
flutter gently,
spiraling earthward,
evening chill
comes early,
as earth
prepares
its descent
to winter.

sgreerpitt
1 October 2009

The world seems to pause and catch its breath as summer comes to an end, and autumn begins. Before the colors burst forth, the signs of autumn are subtle. The forest is just a little bit thinner, more sky and sunlight shine through. The leaves have dulled, no longer the rich green of summer. A good time for reflection.

One Single Impression -- Colors

Colors

pure,
vibrant,
pulsing with life;
fragile,
temporary,
unsustainable.

stay,
do not leave.

but colors
fade,
shift,
change,
like life,
like a river dappled with sun,
the sound of the wind,
phases of the moon,
or
children growing up
and parents
growing old;

time passes
colors change.

sgreerpitt
Friday October 2, 2009

For links to other poems on the prompt "colors" see One Single Impression.

One Single Impression -- Fog

Walking the dog

stepping out
into private space,
a deep well
of damp white;
morning fog
blankets the world
in stillness,
letting through small sounds:
dripping moisture
on phantom leaves,
the soft thud
of a cat landing
out of sight,
the rustling of birds
grounded by fog,
soft canine panting,
and the beating
of my heart.

sgreerpitt
Saturday September 19, 2009


To read other poems on the prompt "fog" check out One Single Impression between Sunday 9/20/09 and Saturday 9/26/09.

Photo was taken this morning (9/19/09) on my way to Rosh Hashanah services, just off US 23 just south of the Virginia/Kentucky border.

One Single Impression -- Thirst

thirst for knowledge
reaching out in myriad
ways, questioning all.


©sgreerpitt
Thursday September 17, 2009

For other (much better) poems on the prompt "thirst" see One Single Impression.

One Single Impression -- Romance

Better late than never! Thanks for the concern, Jim.

I know love
that warmth
suffusing every moment,
care and support through
darkest night
and coldest dawn;
sweet companionship
of lives entwined,
commitment to a common path.

I know passion,
pure fire clean through,
lightening strike,
sizzling senses,
snatching breath,
pulsing in the veins,
hot and slippery,
elation.

What is romance
to these?
Curling cards, yellowing notes,
discarded baubles,
faded petals,
a wisp of candle smoke,
lost in the wind.

©sgreerpitt
Saturday September 12, 2009

Sunday is usually my day for poetry and One Single Impression, and this past Sunday was absorbed with varnishing the mural. But, I also had great difficulty with this prompt. I have conflicted feelings about "romance." My parents both set great store by the forms of romance, the flowers and candy, presents and cards. Growing up around them, that's what I confused the forms with the feeling. This created great conflicts for me over the years, because the two things often did not come at the same time, from the same person.

My husband John, God bless him, is both loving and passionate, but hasn't a clue about the forms of romance. Every once in a while (about one year in five) some lightening bolt will strike him and he'll suddenly turn up with flowers and cards for some event (anniversary, birthday or Valentine's) but mostly, he forgets them entirely. But when I need someone to talk to, to share my joys and my sorrows, when I need a helping hand, a help-mate, then his always there. It took me a few years of marriage before I got over being disappointed at the missing forms of romance, and while its still fun in the odd year when the thought strikes him, I'll take love and passion any day over romance.

One Single Impression -- Blue

blue skies

Longing for a time
when blue skies
reigned
unperturbed by
surface perambulations,
sublimely indifferent
to human strife,
before the machinations
of industry
could alter
atmospheric chemistry
or the devices
of war
could make
winter last
for years.

©sgreerpitt
Sunday August 30, 2009

In the early 1960's when my preadolescent self discovered science fiction, I read a Ray Bradbury story entitled "There Will Come Soft Rains" (written in 1950 long before we understood the full destructive power of nuclear weapons). That story lead me to my passion with poetry, because it lead me to Sara Teasdale, author of the poem "There Will Come Soft Rains." Teasdale wrote her poem in the wake of World War I -- in 1920 before any one had added a numeral after the war.

For more poems on the theme "Blue" see One Single Impression.

Photo by sgreerpitt, a reclaimed stripmine in Letcher County, Kentucky.

One Single Impression -- Allow

Pholcus phalangioides

dangling from your web
graciously sharing your space
keeping ants at bay.



This is the little (female) cellar spider or "cobweb" spider, some times erroneously called a "daddy long legs," that lives above my shower. I have come a very long way from the extremely phobic woman I once was, that I allow this lady to share my space, instead of vacuuming her up in terror. Don't get me wrong -- when a wolf spider the size of my right hand invaded my tub he was immediately dead! But I've learned over the years that the little Pholcus phalangioides will stay quietly in their corners and won't disturb me, if I don't disturb them.

One Single Impression -- Copse

Nothing at all came to mind for me from today's prompt "copse" for days. With all the other things going on in my world (both family and school), I just resigned myself to letting this prompt pass without a poem. But then I sat and listened to my husband as he thought out loud about all the challenges he's facing: starting school tomorrow for the first time in many years in a wholly new direction, and wondering if it is the right direction; worried about the possibility of colon cancer (he has a colonoscopy before him very soon); still recuperating from broken ribs and still unable to do some of his normal routines. Suddenly the tingle of an idea.

Copse

the years have
hacked away
at the forest
of his youth;
hardy trees--
first growth--
brought down
by the chainsaws
of disappointment,
split twain
by lightening bolts
of loss;
now
on the ragged
and blackened
stumps
fresh shoots coppice
in the sunlight.

sgreerpitt
Sunday August 16, 2009

coppice (verb): to spout freely from the base.

For other poems on the prompt "copse" see One Single Impression.

One Single Impression -- Ocean

Indelible Ocean


In winter dreams
the grey Pacific
rolls endless breakers,
ghosts of salt spray
and drying kelp
sting the nose,
my soul bent
like Monterrey pines
to the wind
echoing through
memory.

©sgreerpitt
Saturday August 8, 2009

You can take the girl away from the ocean, but you can't take the ocean away from the girl. Looking back at the poems of my youth spent on the San Francisco peninsula, the vast majority invoked the ocean in some form.

and the sky fell off on either side
mixed with sea and city.

For other poems on the prompt "ocean" see One Single Impression.

One Single Impression -- Windows

welcome summer nights
with open windows,
thunder growling,
blinding flashes,
steady rain,
damp earth,
peepers chorus.
window fans
blur hot night sounds,
dogs barking,
neighbors’ music.
the world comes
in the window,
filters into dreams
with summer wonder.

©sgreerpitt
Sunday August 2, 2009

For other wonderful poems on the prompt "Windows" go to One Single Impression.

One Single Impression -- Fragrance

Contrasts

How welcome,
sweet stale
smell of
rain
on summer dust
and sizzling
pavement,
a sigh of relief
from summer
heat.

Sodden reek,
muddy debris,
when long
the rains,
and bare
the hills.

sgreerpitt
Sunday July 26, 2009

You can read and see a bit more about our Sunday flood in the post below. You can read more (and nicer) poems on the prompt "fragrance" at One Single Impression.

Mine is only one of thousands of families impacted by the negative consequences of mountain top removal strip mining. Please learn more about this devastating mining technique and add your voice to those asking for stricter controls, and an end to the most destructive practices. Check out the I Love Mountains website. This isn't a "tree hugger" issue, its a people lover issue!! My family is lucky, only our yard and driveway (and peace of mind) are damaged this time. Many people lose their homes and their health as the result of mountain top removal strip-mining.

One Single Impression -- Inner Voice

'Go with the wind,
walk facing the sun.'
These words she
inscribed in her heart
as she ventured
into the world;
driven by hurts
buried deep,
a subconscious
mine field,
kept love
beyond the perimeter.
She mistook
shadows
for truth.


©sgreerpitt
Sunday July 19, 2009

During my junior and senior years (1967-1969) in high school, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran was wildly popular. Everyone I knew had to have a copy. I went with a tiny black leather bound volume sans illustrations that I could carry with me everywhere. There were many passages that I reread frequently, even placing tiny dots in the margins so I could find them easily. Looking at the tiny volume today, I feel like a archeologist in my own life!

One of my favorite passages was this: "But you who walking facing the sun, what images drawn on earth can hold you? You who travel with the wind, what weather vane shall direct your course?"

For other poems on the prompt "inner voice" see One Single Impression.