To Stay or Stray ... a poem by Anne Selden Annab

Photo credit: Wikipedia Plato and Aristotle in the center of the painting The School of Athens,
one of the most famous frescoes by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael.

            To Stay or Stray

The Atlantis myth is remembered,
a word, a dream, an idea, a place
from long ago.  A few people
might sell some books today,
earning a little money
exploring possibility,
but beyond that,
beyond Plato's allegory
and all the inspirations
and distortions
that followed
Atlantis
 won't-
can't
nurture real citizenship
with sovereign power.

There are modern casinos
some quite expensive,
borrowing the name
Atlantis...

And there is a sumptuously
luxurious & elaborate hotel
borrowing the name
Atlantis...

We weave stories
to entertain,
to inspire, to distract:

We weave stories
into our struggle
to understand life.

As children we learn
what language to use,
shaping a narrative
that shapes our life,
and our relationships.

The familiar tends
to feel more right
than the unknown,
but then again
maybe not. We
perfect reasons
to do or not do
to stay or stray,
to change patterns
and moods
and minds
and street names...

The land where I live now,
is a neighborhood of many homes
tucked into one of many curves
of a creek where turtles doze
near an exquisite white egret.

This land was a series
of family farms.
Before that it was woods,
with traces of fossilized seashells
hidden deep underground.

The land does not care
what comes next.
Old and new narratives
are a bird fluttering up
momentarily: Life
moves on.

And so it goes with Palestine.

  poem copyright ©2014 Anne Selden Annab