After I participated in the creative writing contest that @MichaelWhelan started, I thought of writing a series of poems based on Michael’s art.

Here’s the first one:

Gazing Beyond

by Fahim Farook

Gazing beyond the bounds of what I could see,

To dream of grasslands wider than a great blue sea.

This is what I’ve done all my life,

To see beyond life’s general strife.

I dreamt of starships piercing the black of space,

Of conversing in tongues with those of an alien race.

I dreamt of lands that human eyes had never seen,

Of being in places where man nor woman had ever been.

And now here I stand on this rickety scaffolding,

Not letting go of the breath that I’ve been holding.

Gazing again at what I’ve been barred from seeing,

Been here for hours, have to stop myself peeing.

I thought I’d see the next step in humanity’s journey,

To the stars, and not breathing its last on a gurney.

But all I saw beyond that tall imposing fence,

Was not something hidden by the Ministry of Defense.

I did not see rocket ships aimed at the stars,

Nor did I see voyagers going to Mars.

Instead I saw a sunset, all golds, oranges, and red,

As the sun headed tiredly for its rest in bed.

And that’s good enough for me right now,

A vision of a rocket can be beaten by a grazing cow.

Dreams of ships, and stars can wait for the ‘morrow,

I’m content with beauty that none can steal or borrow.

Some background about the poem, and the beautiful artwork which inspired it, can be found on my blog: https://write.farook.org/gazing-beyond/

Or you can find the artwork on Michael’s site: https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/terminus/

#Writing #Art #Poetry