POEM: Desolation & Promise – AND IT’S MY STEEMIVERSARY!

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This post serves two purposes. It’s my response to a writing prompt offered up by @steemhousepub, and also the first post I’ve done since being notified that I’ve been blogging on the Steem blockchain for over two years now.

So that’s something.

I think it’s fitting that my second Steemiversary post should be a poem. I’m a poet at heart, and so many of my posts here have been poetic musings of various forms. I hope you enjoy this one, which was inspired by the image below. Be sure to check out the writing prompt post if you want to try your hand at some fiction or poetry based on this visual prompt.

two sides to the same roadimage source

Desolation & Promise

T’was not in the space between waking and dreaming,
Nor the exhale before the great beyond,
But on a jaunt through the country when my vision blurred.
Grave choices stretched on and on.

I saw it then, two futures clear,
One desolate, one glorious and alive.
The void pulled with desperate force,
While green solace breathed and thrived.

The quiet drowned in cacophony;
Humanity’s bellowing, chaotic sounds.
Dread gripped me as I felt the void
Suck them in and drink them down.

The promise of beauty waited,
Like a patient vision of what could be,
If only things were different,
And oppressors fell to the free.

I stopped mid-stride and struggled
Against devastation’s magnetic tide,
Then fell to my knees in horror and hope.
And I prayed. And I cried.

Original poetry by Katrina Ariel

With all that's going on in the world, it's a struggle to stay optimistic, but I do. I'm stubborn that way.

I'm also deeply empathetic, so I suffer when I see fires and destruction. I feel for the loss of life on so many levels. Animals, trees, people. I hate that so much of what is happening now (fires, floods, wars) could be helped if the priorities of leadership were to take care of the planet and to take care of each other. If what is spent on military and industry was instead spent on creating a sustainable future, there would be enough for everyone and we could combat climate change with innovation.

The image used for this prompt is one that invokes strong feelings, which I've tried to put into this poem. The most important message, for me, is that we still have choices. And I will never give up hope.

Thanks for reading!

Whatever happens, keep singing your song!

Peace. @katrina-ariel

Author bio: Katrina Ariel is an old-soul rebel, musician, tree-hugging yogini, and mama bear to twins. Author of Yoga for Dragon Riders (non-fiction) and Wild Horse Heart (romance), she's another free-spirit swimming in the ocean of life. Check out her music here: https://choon.co/artists/katrina-ariel/

Katrina’s writing website

poetry writing nature steemhousepub shprompt creativecoin palnet thealliance
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49 comments
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Why dont we have "love" buttons yet? 💗💗💗💗💗

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Pretty sure this comment counts as a "love" button. ;) And thank you!

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I love your brain. Believe I've stood in that very same place before. Also feel ya on the smoke and Ash😲

@alliedforces curate 2

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Nice poetry. I know how you feel when seeing the destruction going on around the world. It’s hard to watch the fires in Oz and not tear up when seeing the suffering of the people and the animals.

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I hear that. I'm a fellow Aussie. our nearest fires are less than 20 miles away

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I’ve been watching it on the news and praying for rain and cooler weather to help- as are many others. It’s heartbreaking to see the little koalas and the kangaroos with burns and some cannot be saved.
Please stay safe.
Blessings from Canada. 💕 🙏

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Prayers help. Thank you for all the kind thoughts and your thoughtful comments. Blessings from western Canada, all around the world.

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Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
TIBLogo

You have been curated by @freedompoint on behalf of Inner Blocks: a community encouraging first hand content, with each individual living their best life, and being responsible for their own well being. #innerblocks Check it out at @innerblocks for the latest information and community updates, or to show your support via delegation.
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Happy Steemversary! Two years is a decent amount of time to prove yourself, but, you did that the minute you stepped in the door.

Well done, my friend. The poetry moves my soul and my heart is devastated by the state of the world. We can only pray that things will move in the right direction. They will, but, with the help of kind and gentle soul, we could move it a little faster.

I hope you are doing well! We miss you! :)

!tip

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Aw, you always light up my day with your comments. Thank you for being you!

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If enough of us keep being positive it will ultimately rub off on the others. I'm sure of it! We had some good positivity going in #pypt today. It's a good start.

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This post has been selected for curation by @sunravelme. It has been upvoted and will be featured in this week's Working Title post. It will also be considered for the official @minnowsupport curation post and if selected will be resteemed from the main account. Feel free to join us on Discord!

I do this post each week and choose some of the best under-rewarded content I can find on the blockchain. You might be featured next! Help me give you GREAT rewards, make sure you post with the #palnet and the #creativecoin tag or use the PALnet.io front end. If you do, you'll earn PALcoin AND Steem from @msp-curation, and will probably hit trending on PALnet.io. What are you waiting for? Get creating!

Isle of Write is a discord server full of awesome writers and resources- come check us out if you would like some feedback on your work prior to posting to steemit, or just a chance to chat with other writers!

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Thank you so much for the feature, and for supporting poetry on the blockchain. You're awesome!

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Beautiful words - great imagery!
I'm with you: With all that's going on in the world, it's a struggle to stay optimistic, but I do. I'm stubborn that way.
I love the final lines, the message (I prayed/I cried).
And you remind us of the age-old dichotomy, good vs evil, joy vs sorrow, and the current crisis in Australia - a billion animals (and insects beyond counting), dead, many facing extinction. #TooSad for words, but strong souls, old souls, empaths like you will keep capturing words and sharing them. Thank you!

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Thank you for such a thoughtful comment, Carol. I really like that final bit in the poem, too. And yes, keeping a big picture as we breathe and try to take one moment at a time helps. But having the chance to express through poetry is healing, too. Appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts!

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@katrina-ariel has been wonderful and inspiring to read you. I liked your poem, mainly these verses

The quiet drowned in cacophony;
Humanity’s bellowing, chaotic sounds.
Dread gripped me as I felt the void
Suck them in and drink them down.

Aspiring and drinking fear, chaotic sounds and silence offers me a very beautiful poetic image. Regards

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Thank you! I'm glad you liked the poem. It's always so neat to see which lines resonate with people, too. :) My best to you.

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this really speaks to me and I can relate to your writing so much, I feel the same and my heart has broken so many times of late watching footage from Australia.
Happy steemit birthday., sending you lots of love beautiful one xx

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Aw, thank you so much. Sending love from afar. It travels easy. ;)

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Thank you so much for participating! You can find your post featured in the Steemhouse collection of prompts here.

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Thanks for doing the prompts! This was a great start. :)

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Writing the poetry we need right now. You seem to have struck a chord with the Australian community and the plight of the wildfires.

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Thank you. Poetry often comes from the most difficult emotions, but it also helps me make sense of them. Writer's life, eh? ;)

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Congratulations @katrina-ariel! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You distributed more than 14000 upvotes. Your next target is to reach 15000 upvotes.

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!
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