I know I haven’t done this in a while, but I thought you might enjoy it.
In case you haven’t been here before, I love writing prompts – whether a list of words, one word, or even an image. With these posts, I have written poems specifically about paintings and I hope, with my words, you see the scene just as visibly in your heart and mind as if you had seen the image itself.
I could hear the shepherd
with his goats in the city.
Somehow,
they took my notice.
I cannot remember now,
if I heard a bell around their necks
or if the shepherd called to them loudly,
I just remember peeking curiously
out of the hotel window.
I remember the night before,
was a wedding party.
You could not help, but notice it –
the noise of merriment
surrounding us on all corners
we could hear music
streaming into the night.
The next morning,
their mess was piled up,
high in a nearby dumpster.
I silently watched
as the man tossed garbage
to the ground,
the goats quickly grabbing scraps
and I wondered
if this was their normal fare
or if this was a special occasion.
The goats gathered in the dust
the man stood silently watching
and you could hear the bleat
of nearby cars
speeding in the distance.
I guess this was the inner-city life here
and I could not help but contemplate
how so many scraps were left –
discarded like meaningless waste,
while others in this city
suffered in hunger.
© Sumyanna 2020
This poem was based on an image I saw – that reminded me of a trip we made many years ago overseas.
Sumyanna Writes 
A beautiful, sad, wonderfully filmed tale.
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Thank you!
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Sad! You write beautifully, Sumyanna. I loved this narrative poem. I have never tried my hand at one. Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
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Thank you. I only started doing them in the past few years – but I like to combine my poetry with a love of telling a story as well. So glad you stopped by. Thank you!
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Wonderfully descriptive! It does bring to mind thoughts of the homeless and why we can’t feed everyone when there is so much waste. Well done!
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Thank you. Yes, that is definitely what comes to mind – so sad.
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You’re welcome.
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Sumyanna: I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie “Castaway” with Tom Hanks or not. We thoroughly enjoyed it but we could tell that most of our audience didn’t really get it because they kept laughing in the wrong places. But there was one scene that topped them all – after hevhad been rescued and returned home there was a celebration party for him at the airport. And after everyone else had left, he stood at a table of food that surpassed probably most of what he was able to catch and eat for himself. On the island food was hard one. At the table he picked up a disposable butane lighter and had fire with one click. On the island he independently invented a fire plow, and managed to get a flame after countless hours of trying. Seeing him standing there and Knowing what he had accomplished for himself made for a very poignant moment.
Hugs,
M&M
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I definitely have seen the movie and loved it. I know what part you are talking about and yes – we take so much for granted. It’s amazing when we see what we are truly capable of, but sadly it often happens out of dire necessity instead of a conscious choice.
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