Mark Scrivener Poetry Blog No. 6 Silver and Gold

 

SILVER AND GOLD

This poem was conceived when standing on the seawall at Ballina NSW where the Richmond River flows into the sea. The sea is on the east and the river is coming from the west, hence at sunset with a full moon rising you really can see what is in the poem. Of course, the sun and moon are archetypal symbols with all sorts of resonances.

SILVER AND GOLD

Ballina, NSW

Far to the west, behind the shadowed town,

Surrounded by a blaze of gold sea-haze,

The dazzling, gold-bright sun was sinking down,

And filling eyes with golden, fire rays

And spreading over misted sky a gown

Of golden light and over river waves

A gold-paved pathway to the skyline blaze.

Far to the east, arising with the night,

White-haloed on the wide sea’s cloud-strewn sky,

The bright moon’s silver face was gaining light,

White, silver light as day was passing by,

That spread a shining path, all sparkling-bright,

Across the sea- cool, silver shimmering

That danced across the ocean’s billowing.

So on one side the eastern ocean

Was thus a world of silver motion

And on the other, last of day

Was golden with the sun’s last ray…

There in the middle I could stand

With silver and gold on either hand.