Prequel to ‘Elysian Daydreaming’
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This poem was
Written six months after I wrote
“Elysian Daydreaming.” The two poems are
Companions to one another, but this
Poem is actually a prequel,
And depicts events
Leading up to, and prior to, the
First poem of July 1, 1998.
It describes the moments just
Before my dreamlike boat ride with
An unknown, mythical
Woman. Both poems
Are still very peaceful to me,
Lo all these twenty plus
Years later. They portray the
Exquisite happiness existing
Between a man and a woman in
The heavenly setting of an
Unbelievably placid lake in an
Unbelievably perfect time
And daydream.
Leo Carroll
February 5, 2019
I envision a woman
Upon a dock, a woman absorbed in
Blissful thought.
This woman slowly
Turns my way, as if expecting my
Arrival today…
Tied to the dock gently
Rocks a small boat, a boat at rest in
Elysian float.
This boat rides with a
Soothing sigh, knowing soon that
Two souls abide…
Ode to December’s Flower
(The Snapdragon)
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Creation has a
Resilience which is
Unconquerable.
I was reminded of that yet
Again when I saw a
Delicate snapdragon
In all its glory
On an overcast,
Cold December day.
I felt it was waiting for
Me to see it – before
It closed its eyes.
Leo Carroll
April 20, 2018
I kneel before you,
O leaf of green,
So soft to me with
Gentle sheen.
I touch your petal,
Still strangely there, and
Still alive despite
Winter’s wear…
Bowing down, I
Kiss your leaf, and
Warmed I am with your
Love replete.
Slowly rising, I take
One last look back,
Fixed in awe by your
Life intact…
Elysian Daydreaming
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When I am
Daydreaming,
My mind can easily
Glide to musings
Near and far, to
Wild imaginings as
If I was living under the
Influence of another
Time or star…
And so twenty
Years ago I had a
Daydream, and
A fantasy-image
Floated to me of
Being in a small boat
And rowing across
Surreal, placid
Waters. I was
Accompanied by
An unknown,
Mythical woman,
And we were
On a lake with no
Beginning nor
Ending, and seemed
Suspended in
Exquisite peace.
Looking back on that
Daydream, it was
Perhaps a metaphor
For Elysium, a
Glimpse of the
Afterlife of the
Ancient Greeks, an
Absolute abode of
Ideal happiness,
And occurring beneath a
Canopy of eternal
Blessing.
Leo Carroll
November 29, 2018
There is a lake in
Golden time, locked in place
Forever mine…
Upon that lake I
Gently move, bathed in
Light on waters
Smooth.
There is a woman
By my side, also peaceful
In that ride.
Upon that lake an
Image holds, of all my
Dreams to yet
Unfold.
There is a day I
Know not when, I’ll take that
Trip of which I ken.
Until that time
I calmly wait, and row
My dream upon
That lake…
Paean
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There is something
About the color yellow which
I find particularly
Warming, whether it
Appears on yellow maple
Leaves in autumn, or
On buttery-yellow marigolds
Or snapdragons or
Day lilies in summer. This
Poem is about when
I saw a magnificent,
Yellow-leafed maple tree,
Its leaves as if they
Adorned the throne of
Creation, and their hue as if
Personally applied
By watercolors from
The sun. And I saw this
Tree with its golden
Leaves while driving in
A suburban setting in
Needham, Massachusetts!
If I had seen such a
Tree and its leaves in
The woods of Maine or
New Hampshire, I
Would not have been as
Surprised, although I
Would have felt equally
Gifted, but I saw
These leaves when and
Where I did not expect — as
Always, Mother Nature
Caught me off guard,
And spoke to me when
My heart needed it,
And when the scales from my
Eyes were removed to
Reveal the magnitude of
The stunning message.
Leo Carroll
May 16, 2018
O, yellow leaves,
Gentle as balm,
Resting in God’s sunlight,
So soft to me,
So holy to me,
Only the wind knows
Your delight.
O, yellow leaves,
Simple and pure,
Faithful like a friend,
Beckoning all,
Proclaiming fall,
Even aft you drop, still
My godsend.
Lifting Vesuvius
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One day I simply
Started to seriously write.
I had always written,
And enjoyed it,
But one day I began
To finally view
Myself as a writer,
And not just as a writer –
But as a poet, and
A whole different, new
World began
To spread its wings
Before me, and my daily
Existence took on the
Form of stanza and
Verse, and there
Was not a depth I would
Not go to, nor was
There a height I would not
Attempt to climb.
Words took on
An indescribable
Significance to me, and
They swirled in my
Head as if they
Had always belonged,
And had finally
Found a way to
Come out…as rhyme.
Leo Carroll
April 28, 2018
From deep
Within a
Flood erupts,
Bursting
Through a
Wedge created.
Words gush
In endless
Source,
Flowing
Freely and
Unabated.