Sunday, May 6, 2018

Life From the Dead Sea

Thank you, Karen Lee Ramos
for hosting a delightful afternoon of poetry, today,
at the Barn Gallery, Ringwood Manor State Park.
I enjoyed reading poems from my book
and listening to all the other fine poets.

And now...another poem about the Dead Sea:

Photo credit: britannica.com

LIFE FROM THE DEAD SEA

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

There’s something mysterious
yet wondrous
about this great water body
that lies smooth and still
in the midst of utter barrenness
so salty, one can actually climb
and walk upon giant saline mushrooms
which rise up from sea bottom
at the lowest ebb on Earth

For millenniums it has taken
from the Galilee and Jordan
without giving—
refusing sustenance
to fish and flora
hoarding its rich minerals
and precious oils which intensify
in ongoing evaporation

People flock to its shores
from far continents
to bathe, buoyed
in lifeless waters that heal
They even slather their bodies
with its dark therapeutic mud
receiving restoration
from the deadest dead

One great day
the mighty arm of God
will reach down, down, down
to touch its lifeless liquidity
with miraculous rebirth
Its waters will spring to life!
Fish will thrive
Trees will bear magnificent fruit
along its lush and fertile shores

Maude Carolan


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