Cicada
There is, I know, some benefit in this, this cycle of emerging, breeding, dying- so brief a time for knowing any bliss, or making friends, or new endeavors trying –
only to bring forth offspring which will know a dark, damp, subterranean home for years, preserving life that one day it might show itself to curious humans, ring our ears
and give us pause to contemplate how odd sometimes, the workings of our all-wise God.
Originally published by The Society for Classical Poets
In Mad River
Apologia pro vita sua
An ancient boulder, relic of a long forgotten past, stands resolute and strong amid the shallow, stumbling waters of Mad River. Facing to the sky above, and framed by forest glory, he confronts the crazy current, almost like he wants to say, “Slow down! What’s all the rush about? There’s beauty here, and you can find it out, but first you’ll have to take a hard look at yourself, and let your soul remind you that there’s more to life than rushing here and there. Just look and hear: there’s glory everywhere.” The river doesn’t listen, for it’s bound by earth’s attraction, and the only sound it hears is of the rushing crowd, the din of “Faster! Newer! There’s a race to win!” And yet the old rock perseveres. Streams come and go, but he abides, a witness from another time, content to see the sky, to share the forest’s grandeur, and to try to slow, if not to change, Mad River’s crazed rush to oblivion. He is unfazed by his obscurity and meager gains. For him it will suffice if there remains a legacy, known by a few, who see in him what they themselves might like to be.
NB: Vermont’s Mad River flows north from Granville Gulf to Middlesex, where it joins the Winooski River. The Mad River Valley is a popular tourist region, due to its beautiful Vermont scenery and two ski areas, Mad River Glen and Sugarbush Resort.
Originally published by The Society for Classical Poets
T.M. Moore’s poetry has appeared in numerous journals, and he has published five volumes of verse through his ministry’s imprint, Waxed Tablet Publications. He is Principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, he and his wife, Susie, reside in Essex Junction, VT.