The Voyagers

Seascape by Lionel Walden, 1911

The night breathed hope, or was it wrong of me
to think the moon hummed tunes for us alone.
We left, or fled, or magic-led, to see
new worlds across the sea—we’d be unknown.
But will the stars so brightly shine beyond
world’s edge? And will the air smell sweeter there?
And to the sun, will bright-hued birds respond
in raucous song? Or must we not compare,
new worlds to old? So bold we go—somewhere.

This is for dVerse, where Laura has asked us to write a noveline, a poetic form invented by Sarah Rayburn inspired by the Spenserian sonnet. You can find more details about the form and the prompt here.
I may continue this one at another time.

63 thoughts on “The Voyagers

  1. I love the bold sense of adventure you have captured here, Merril! I don’t think we often appreciate just how daring those early adventurers were, but reading your poem brings this sense to life.

  2. There is a poignancy about the poem, and I didn’t think of space travel, but, yes, why not? The poignancy for me is every time I’ve moved–from my hometown to California and then California to Florida–I’ve wondered these things: “And will the air smell sweeter there?” That’s kind of like asking if the grass is greener on the other side 😉
    But one worries, as I did, if the voyage, the move will turn out to be a mistake, but it’s not fair to compare new worlds to old. I really love this poem. It holds many stories.

  3. Who knows what change holds?
    Therein lies an incomparable answer.
    Be it a strange new world, returning to an old one or resisting by attempting to change the stale; the best is to try.
    The old saying “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”, has nothing on your brave new words. This is exquisitely written. You set a high standard!
    Thank you, Merril!

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