Picture This
“A picture’s worth a thousand words,” they say;
And “they” are wise who dare make such a claim.
For pictures, just like poetry, convey
Deep feelings, thoughts or moods that prose can’t frame.
The Mona Lisa’s calm serenities
Speak for themselves in silence from her wall.
And though she’s launched a thousand PhDs,
In person there’s no need for words at all.
Good photographs can often tell us more
About a place than words inside a book.
And as for places we’ve not been before,
It’s better yet to go and take a look.
And as for people, words cannot replace
The benefits of meeting face to face.
Pilgrimage
By compass, GPS or polar star,
By grit or guru, creed or deity,
We each are guided by some avatar
To where we are and someday soon will be.
From birth or from some distant time before
We wander then and there to here and now
Through paths of either/or and neither/nor
In search of our elusive longed-for Tao.
To drink ambrosia or bitter pill;
Eternity or cul-de-sac dead end;
By fate or faith with final breath we will,
Resigned, succumb; or else, to life, transcend.
By random chance or some divine design,
Enlightenment will come in its own time.
James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and four collections of poetry including Sidekicks, Mostly Sonnets, and Laughing Matters, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in both print and online media. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.
These are both excellent — wise and well done. Thanks for sharing them.