Do you chase that other Eden,
ruled by nine sisters, that dreaming place
that swims just past wave-kissed vision,
where women pose as mermaids
and stretch their arms over the Atlantic?
This is the heart of legend, spawning the ore
used to forge the sword in the stone:
the land of mist and promises,
where kings are made,
where all journeys end.
There are no more golden apples.
We know earth is earth, stone hard
and bone-breaking beautiful
if we take our eyes from the grail,
from the ideas that swallow us deeper
than any big fish and do not release us,
spat up on the shore
where we are called to be prophets,
gasping, wet, stinking of the sea;
but instead break us down,
acid eating even our bones.
The magic of all quests is the quest,
the things learned along the way,
not the won object winking and whispering
eternal salvation, immortal life, forever love;
lives wasted chasing fountains of youth
and fruit tasted once.
Seek for the sake of the search.
Leave the sword in the stone.
Legends are for kings
until they find the perfect places to die.
Leave life on the tree, and rather
savor the wild strawberries
grown dense over the roots of myth,
ripe and forgotten.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
This is really good writing!
Deana, thank you!
Susan, you are an extraordinarily gifted writer and this is an exemplary piece of work. Absolutely love it!
David, thank you so much!
Beautiful dreamy landscape of images. I love this one.
Alice, thanks so much.
Absolutely love this Susan — Possesses the kind of cohesive vision beginning to end that I strive for and rarely achieve. Truly Mytho-Poetic. We really are in charge of our own myth-making. This speaks strait to a lot of the non-fiction I’ve been reading of late — will post some quoty stuff soon…
Johnny, thank you! You made me blush…
other than that blushing thing, would really enjoy reading any quotes you want to put out there. Sounds like you have been doing some interesting reading.
mmmmmm … wild apples ~ but for me ‘lives wasted chasing fountains of youth
and fruit of a tree tasted once; a price / we are still paying with ashes and bones’ ~ oooohhhh I love it …
Oh, wow, Polly–thank you!
BEAUTIFUL, STUNNING, AMAZING. WOW SUSAN! WOW. I just had to pause from studying to exclaim over this, wow.
“There are no more golden apples,
and of the need to find heaven on earth,
we know earth is earth, stone hard
and bone-breaking beautiful”
I mean philosophers spend lifetimes on this alone and
“Seek for the sake of the search.
Leave the sword in the stone.
Legends are for kings
until they find the perfect places to die.
Leave the fruit on the tree, and rather
savor the wild strawberries
grown dense over the roots of myth,
ripe and forgotten.”
MASTERFUL. billions of applause and accolades
Chris, wow, thank you so much! This was something that insisted on being written today. Really appreciate the comment, and I am red as those strawberries I talk about here.
Such depth Susan. You really have “IT”
Audra, thanks so much. Red again 😉
I am going to be so proud when you are published one day
Oh, you! Working on getting better so that it might happen 😉
ps I miss your small stones woman.
😉 They were fun, but I was scraping the bottom of my bucket of stones by the 31st.
lol 🙂 it is well deserved.
Thanks, Chris. Again, really appreciate it!
I am amazed, nay stunned at the brilliant way you weave the words and ideas into this excellently done poem. From Eden and Eve to Jonah and the whale, to the holy grail quest. Susan, your talent is superb. God bless you 🙂
Celestine, thank you. Obinna wrote some excellent poetry about Avalon (loosely based as an inspiration, applying it to Africa) that triggered this poem. You should check them out!
http://archdukepoesy.wordpress.com
Excellent!
Thank you, Mama!
wow, Susan… what a beautiful piece!
“we know earth is earth, stone hard
and bone-breaking beautiful
if we take our eyes from the grail,
from the ideas that swallow us deeper
than any big fish and do not release us”
i so adore this – wonderfully worded. now, i am happy about this sleepless night – finally finding some time to read… and i am even more happy i stumbled upon this gem.
beautiful.
Miriam, gosh, thanks! This one just insisted on being written today. i am so very glad you liked it so much!
Absolutely wonderful!
Jules, thank you.
nine sisters – The Muses…
the land of mist and promises: Avalon and Hy Brasil
The Major imagery drawn here especially to Avalon and the muses are awestriking. Mnemosyne’s (Memory) Clio (History) and Melpomene (Singing) quite interest me as well as one can deduce a marriage between History and song here all inspired by memory of events, both legendary and mythical. A journey again through the theogony and theosophy of the British Isles is quite remarkable as it also attempt to explore a measure of cosmogony (or not) especially in the Arthurian Legend mentioned and the allusion to the real origins of the metal that forged the sword. In the Isle of Apple, the poet undergoes the ‘toiling’ and still walks into a place of wild strawberries; of unrestricted freedom, even at the expense of exploring the Legend of the Excalibur and possibly living in the high court life in the times of Merlin and Arthur himself(Leave the sword in the stone…) but rather chose a simpler rustic life. I will suspend my critique here and reply in poetry….
Beautiful and powerful. touches every conceivable utopia and field of nature to express freedom. Am glad I inspired this…
Obinna, this never would have come to be without your “Avalon” poems, and I am thankful your voice woke mine up in the midst of a busy two weeks. Thanking you again for the inspiration (not to mention the depth of your critique–I am humbled and honored by the scrutiny you gave this). Sending you a “high five” electronically.
Did you feel
the coarse toiling hand
clash
in the mind,
on the soft
wintered hand,
across the ocean
in poesy
in agreement…
Yes, I most certainly did!
if so then read… http://archdukepoesy.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/avalon-iv-orbis-unum-ii/
Will do!
One word suffices to describe this – BEAUTIFUL! Every line is a winner, full, heaving, breathing but these two got me –
“Legends are for kings
until they find the perfect places to die”
Well done< Susan. what a voice!.
Noel, thank you. This was one of those that insists on being written. So glad you enjoyed it.
I am reblogging this! This is poetry, this is music, this is life as a song – a song about a futile search for the elusive when what really matters is right by us, in us and with us.
Noel, wow, thanks so much!
Reblogged this on visionvoiceandviews and commented:
The quest for the elusive
I think my dear you have outdone yourself 🙂 I love the new site to 🙂
Thank you, Jen.
really loving the imagery in this
Thanks, Bruce!
Nicely done – this is lovely. Have you read The Wanderer? Just stumbled upon it before stumbling here. It seems to resonate with you poem.
Thanks, Martin, and no–I don’t believe I have. Will have to check it out.
nice…what a journey… esp. loved the …Leave the fruit on the tree, and rather
savor the wild strawberries….and…Still, we gamble,
place our lives on the table like so many chips….parts..
Claudia, thank so much!
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beautifully elegant, this is – and with a great ring of truth
“The magic of the quest is the quest,
the things learned along the way,
not the won object winking and whispering
eternal salvation, immortal life, forever love;
lives wasted chasing fountains of youth
and fruit of a tree tasted once; a price
we still pay with ashes and bones.”
just so…
Ruth, thank you so much for commenting
I like the idea of seeking for the sake of the search…..and also of leaving the apples on the tree! Sometimes it is good to reframe the old stories.
Thank you, Mary!
savor the strawberries grown dense over the roots of myth…smiles…i like that…looking more to where they came from than the story themselves…at least that is the meaning i found in that bit…smiles.
I like your take on that, Brian 😉
So true, Susan… and beautifully expressed. I especially like stanza 4.
Laurie, thank you so much!
Very nice indeed! I’d probably take the apple anyway, but not lack for the strawberries .
All too often, we can’t seem to leave well enough alone.
Thank you, and that is quite true. Our nature defeats us every time 😉
There’s so much to say about this brilliant poem, Susan. I love your weaving of myths that underlie our human quest, no matter the road we follow.
Thank you, Victoria! You so got this. It is not so much which myth you pick, but our pursuit that makes our stories worth telling.
Blushing now, too–thanks, Victoria! …
Excellent 🙂
Ayala, thank you!
Love how you led the reader with each beautifully rendered verse to the admonition to ‘savor the wild strawberries….’ Lovely1
Thanks, WS. We lose so much when focused on what we are attaining and not what is before us all the way, or underfoot.
I love love love this…. Such truth in your words…. The magic of all quests is the quest…. Yes!
Kelly, wow, thanks so very much. This one just snuck up on me. Glad you liked it.
Leave life on the trees… savor the strawberries… wise advice!
Thanks, Kim!
wonder strucked!
Deb, thank you!
Lovely share ~ The quest is in the quest, the journey ~ Thank you for your gift of words ~
Grace
Thank you, Grace.
So much wisdom here. I could live by this alone,
“The magic of all quests is the quest,
the things learned along the way”.
Wow, thank you!
I really like this, particularly the conclusion. Worthy advice, framed in worded artwork.
Nelle, thank you.