Once again we have the time for a collaborative poem by @permabloom @stair71 @MyVogonPoetry @brudberg @troublegummer and @vivchook
It was this type of collaborative poetry that brought me to start blogging, You can also see all poems in this picturebook done by Carl
I present it on behalf of the group at dVerse open link nigh, join us at 3PM CET.
Copyright Björn Rudberg
I’ll be cold ash on the wing of heaven
before I know what all this is about
Oh God, don’t slow this nomad down,
don’t make me older, tireder, weaker.
I looked up, swore and cursed the rut-pocked path,
My sodden pack, my shoes more rent than sole;
Affixed my eyes upon the distant pyre
That smouldering signed my longed-for journey’s end.
Faraway drums mark my solemn march
Each beat a footstep, each song a mile.
Taking me further from the safety of the habitual
to a place where I am stranger to all.
High above I hear the cawing of the crows
in solemn threnody to mark an end ?
but suddenly from deep in undergrowth
a chirping thrush bring me relief and hope
Its cadence a softening of the cacophony above,
And a distraction from the cracked intentions upon which I tread.
Momentary respite, then, I move on, weary
As seeking tendrils of cold begin to pierce me
My destination has drained me more than the journey
My search leaving a futility that exhausts the soul
The stillness I have pursued catches me as I rest
A welcome stranger, dreaded yet oddly familiar
This epiphany that home is within. For me to warm.
—
June 18, 2013
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I liked this – and the flow and freedom of it.
Beautiful and haunting, love the lines “…Oh God, don’t slow this nomad down,
don’t make me older, tireder, weaker!”
nice…it amazes me the cohesion on these collab poems….that opening stanza has hook…and feel…great opening line…i feel the journey in the words…nice close too…the stranger dreaded yet familiar & welcome…and in the end home within…cool write man…
Indeed! As Brian notes above..the cohesion is quite amazing. My favourite verse is the first..cold ash on the wings of heaven…that’s good stuff!
the journeys of life…love that opening stanza…the nomad…the images and the being drained from the journey, the searching… can relate to this and yet…wouldn’t want it any other way..cool collab
So great to hear the feedback on these collaborations. it is such an honor to be part of them.
Wonderful choice of words, springing surprises in every stanza.
I enjoyed this wonderfully penned collaborative effort, and my congrats to the poets involved !! Well Done !!
Love this kind writing.collaboration is quite a rush and the final product is always greater than any anxiety or expectation. Well done.
…ah, you are all doing quite an impressive job on series like this Bjorn… i particularly liked that starting stanza… now i see how you do it on twitter after discovering it earlier… so limited platform yet can produce powerful tweets… smiles…
the cawing of the crows relieved by the gentle thrush, was the bit that stood out for me.
cracked intention upon which I tread….This poem has so much texture.
What a lovely weaving of words and images ~ Opening and ending verses are my favorite parts ~ Love the collab poem Bjorn ~
Excellent–we do often take the longer, harder road to find we were already home. Great work!
A nice collaborative efforts filled with great images within the journey.
Bjorn, yes, there are wonderful word choices in this haunting tale.
Excellent collaboration.
Pamela
Wow! I love this Bjorn. It may have been written by several poets but the poem has one voice! And strongly written and powerful from start to finish! Wonderful!
If you can be taken in all this to a home within, that is epiphany indeed. Well done. The single bird in the cacophony is a wonderful image. k.
Love the opening stanza, a beautiful write.
This flows so cohesively and presents the perfect picture of the nomad. Fabulous work!
Congrads to you and your two cohorts…This is beautiful…and seamless!
Thank you, Emerald. It’s actually 6 writers, doing one stanza each. So that shows how well we are writing with one voice – thank you. Amazing compliment.
Lovely! Had to put a LOT of miles on the ol’ body to figure out “home is within”.
It might be just me, but I had a sense of Wordsworth here.
What a wonderful thing you guys are doing! A lovely poem!! Reads well. Great group effort!
This one is so much so lucid that one can easily miss that this is a collaborative creation. Kudos for such marvelous work!!
Gosh this is so haunting, a step backwards in time… this line…I looked up, swore and cursed the rut-pocked path, just marvelous as is the whole poem. It has such a classic feel, really well done. My favourite today for sure!
Lovely stuff peops! In principle and in content
If you hadn’t told us that this is a collaborative poem beforehand, I would never have known. Congratulations to all six of you for being able to produce work this seamless.
It’s very humbling to read such supportive and positive feedback… Especially as I, for one, had never written for publication or public consumption. Safety in numbers…! Thank you for the encouraging posts.
Awesome collaboration is awesome.