Two poems... again

These are poems twenty and twenty one. I experienced severe writer's block yesterday and instead of manning up and admitting it, I just went to bed. However, I compensated for that today during the beautiful bus ride back from Bergen. That was a lot of B's.

The first poem was written after seeing this view of this:



It dawned on me at this point that no matter how many pictures I took, I would never capture the full beauty of the scene, which frustrated me. So I wrote this to whine.

Moral: human capacity of feeling far exceeds the capacity to convey it

Endless, endless, they vex
Me, and as the vistas go wan
I strain myself for precision.
Write perfection, undo knots
And explain it as my vision.

But I’m only human.
My feelings are more complex
Than my words.
I get close to my thoughts,
And they fly away like birds.

Also today, we went through different scenery than the way we came. We went up through Hardangervidda, or a mountain range by the Hardanger Fjord and spent a bunch of the time above the tree line. Way more stark but still beautiful.



This poem doesn't really have a moral or anything. Just wanted to prove to myself that I can describe something. Haha.

Not even the trees reach here.
Their branches are finite.
Fog hangs like the porch light
To give what is around it fear.
Oh cairns, the ground to you is dear.

Snow is an eternal creed.
It is pure here, always around.
Too cold for a profane sound.
Survival at least can reap its seed,
Not much more than what you need.

Unpublished Material, ©2011 Cali Digre

Whoops/ Triple threat

So Wednesday night I had an excuse to not post. I was in a hotel with no internet, but I dutifully wrote my poem anyway. We were staying in a valley, and I watched a mountain darken as the sun went down. This is also one of the first poems I've written in a while with a very strict meter somewhat like some of the old romantic poetry. I've been kind of caught up in romanticism while floating down fjords and going through mountains. Because it's contagious, seriously. You get around nature too long, you start really worshipping it.

Moral: Big or small, the flighty and cowardly have no power.

7/13

The mountains have so few of friends,
For when the midnight here descends
All that they leave are silhouettes.
Who would place hope in any stone
That cannot brave the dark alone?
And so they crumble to their shell.
Like lonely trees that lift their height,
So much they paint against the light.
So much have they in their regrets,
So much their traces have to tell.

Since being in Bergen, I've been busy and going crazy with Grieg. I've always really liked his music, and my favorite piece of his is called "Våren" or "Last Spring." I've always wanted to write a poem to go along with the music, not so much as text but as a supplementary piece. So that's what I did.

Moral: Memories are eternal

7/14

The green is buried below.
But I will always remember
The earth’s hello
Last spring.

Birds deep in the summer sky.
But I will always remember
Their very first cry
Last spring.

I will always remember
Last spring.

And finally, I've tried my hand at writing something a little lighter. Often times I get so wrapped up in my poetry that I don't always inject humor into it. So that's what I'm doing. Just to make sure I still have a sense of humor. Bergen is a lovely but very touristy city, so I've been laughing at the gimmicky/ kitschy things they have for sale that really aren't worth it.

Moral: just because you can, doesn't mean you should.


7/15

A Norwegian flag hat,
An “I heart Bergen” cup,
A magnet with a troll,
You know, the stuff that
Really makes you whole.

I’m not gonna lie.
This truth was thought up
By many, many scholars:
“My friend, you can buy
Anything with dollars.”

Unpublished Material, ©2011 Cali Digre