- Photo: Rosa Frei
Linked to One Stop Poetry: http://onestoppoetry.com/
thirteen ways of looking at a desert
i
sometimes something
we judge to be barren
throbs with life
ii
wind scatters sand
like gossips spread destruction
iii
if you go to the desert
you will see the stars
perhaps one of them
holds your life purpose
then you are no longer
afraid of the viper’s kiss
iv
the power of thirst
consumes all other desires
v
shifting sands
are like people
who vacillate
you don’t know
where you stand
vi
the desert is a canvas
open to splashes
of vibrant color
vii
the desert is
a state of mind
are you alone
or lonely
viii
the desert is
a place of temptation
there the devil tempted
jesus
bread
greed
power
nothing has changed
ix
if you try
to leave your mark
upon the desert
nature will erase it
wind
earthquake
war
we don’t really matter
x
the hotter it gets
the fewer people hang around
xi
many people
do not understand
the beauty of the desert
or of wrinkled faces
xii
at some point
you will visit a desert
and discover
what it is to be arid
xiii
when the desert blooms
you will find grace
Based on a form of Wallace Stevens: “Ways of Looking at…”
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
a wonderful take of the 13… no ii is so simple, but says so much, my fave. The desert is such a wonderful metaphor which you give great service in your fabulous exploration. Thank you for the prompt ~
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I love a desert, I mean a visit, a sniff, a photo, a song, a portrait. Excellent. Would never live there, but, a visit yes. Thanks for the visit, so real.
http://henryclemmons.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/conversations/
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very creative, I tried to do similar, it takes time, finally tried an easier one.
🙂
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Interesting and creative poem. Rich in ideas language and form. The desert like the ocean is cruel and dangerously beautiful. You convey this feeling in your fine work.
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Enjoyed this approach to poetry. It certainly is very expressive and I was with you in each stanza. We, or I should say I, have always though of deserts as being sandy. This was until I went to Qatar. The dows at the port and on the clear water were enchanting. Yet the desert I romanticised about looked liked God’s building site. A pile of rubble from buildings that had been torn down by the wrath of God.
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“shifting sands
are like people
who vacillate
you don’t know
where you stand”
Great desert observations… do like the lines above they seem to have a subtle movement to them
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Wonderful! 13 ways of seeing a desert – see what Stevens’ hath wroth from his Key West abode?
I especially like the 7th way, stanza 7:
the desert is a state of mind are you alone or lonely
a state of being, or a state of mind? a desert produces mirages.
having grown up in the desert…I attune and atone to this piece, quite naturally.
Lovely imitation of idea, a job well done, and poem that is rich in meaning.
thank you
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There was a form of pilgrimage by ascetics involving getting lost in the desert (as if on the ocean) — so the journey through this poem is a sort of immrama, learning how to live and die. Like the ocean, deserts endure … while we remain small voices quickly lost in the ancient winds. Loved it. – Brendan
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I read this first thing upon waking up and I mistakenly read dessert and then thought the desert was a metaphor for a dessert!
The poem worked like footprints in the sand.
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So many good lines and stanzas. Best of all:
many people
do not understand
the beauty of the desert
or of wrinkled faces
but the poem is a triumph of shifting foci.
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This is fabulous, very beautiful. I especially love:
at some point
you will visit a desert
and discover
what it is to be arid
I love that you chose the desert for this challenge– a wonderful job. xxxj
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remembered this victoria – what i like is that each stanza could stand on its own – or at least almost. thanks for tending the bar victoria – loved your article and all the different takes – stumbled upon poets i never heard of..
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Wow, I love how you approached this.
“you will see the stars
perhaps one of them
holds your life purpose”
Loved those lines. Great piece! =)
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Really awesome… I particularly enjoyed 8 and 9……. beautifully written Victoria……. wonderful prompt too! I lived in the desert in southwestern Texas and New Mexico for 5 years…… it is a very, very different lifestyle……..
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[…] Note: If you’re looking for my post for dVerse Meeting the Bar, please go to https://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/thirteen-ways-of-looking-at-a-desert/ […]
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Very lovely.
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Why stop at 13? Seriously, very nicely observed and great article at dVerse.
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You have certainly described well the different aspects of desert. You know it well and because of you I now know it better. Beautiful work.
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Oh I love it! Every single verse. Humans can learn much from what appears to be barren. Excellent.
Beth
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An original: both perspective and method. Enjoyed much.Thanks, Victoria!
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“when the desert blooms
you will find grace”
i live in the desert and there is grace and a real sense of peace when it blooms. beautiful!
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Love this – one of my favorite reads this week. Perfect.
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Way kool, in a hot desert kind of way.
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Just exquisite–so many images and descriptions here. Deserts are so full…
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this is a very creative take on the prompt…loved all the different ways of how you can look at the desert but my fav i guess is vi…beautiful victoria
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this is just fabulous victoria. wow! all thirteen are beautiful and some are truly stunning. you can truly capture the world in your words.
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Nice nod to one of Stevens’ best. Some excellent observations here, as well.
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I have to say that I really enjoyed the read, Victoria. Such profound little nuggets, one after another, like clustered grains of desert sand. Blessings to you…
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Beautiful! I really love the lines:
“the desert is
a state of mind
are you alone
or lonely”
The poem shows great deepness and sensitivity. Thank you so much!
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Brilliant, love it so much. Specially the lines
the desert is
a state of mind
are you alone
or lonely
A really touching poem, that goes deep….. Thank you so much!
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What I came away from this piece is that a desert is like a mirror in that it reveals less about itself, and more about the observer. Each new theme, like the shifting sands, is a shift in perspective: perfect for a desert motif.
Good work! 😀
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you packed a lot of wisdom into that and love the way you went after putting it together!
totally agree on the co-creator comment by the way…
#9 humbling and true…
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smiles. i remember this one….great prompt at dVerse today victoria…enjoyed and appreciated…
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“desert is a state of mind” is my fav line
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A unique approach that provides much food for thought. Cool challenge response! I especially like when you compare it to a canvas and project a night scene.
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