Utopian Idiots

Share this post
The Hole in the Sky
utopianidiots.substack.com

The Hole in the Sky

A poem by Will Pemberton

William Pemberton
Apr 21
6
2
Share this post
The Hole in the Sky
utopianidiots.substack.com

Editor’s note: A few weeks before Will (one of the three founders of this site) passed away last August, he sent me a document with a handful of his poems, to publish on Utopian Idiots. At the time, however, all my thoughts were with him, not with this project, and I didn’t get a chance to publish the poems before he passed away. With Jonathon and I now making a renewed effort to resurrect Utopian Idiots, it seemed a good time to publish Will’s poems. Here is the first of them.

There’s a hole in the sky,   
    a place whence dreams
Come down to be born.
Then go back to die   
    when ripped at the seams,
too thin and outworn.

I once caught the sight, 
    —For real? I can’t say—
But something came near:
A picture of light   
    On a summertime day,
in a summertime year.

I’d walked through a swamp,    
    a place I don’t know,
the flies at my ear.
—A first youthful romp—    
    Not sure where to go, 
nor whether to fear.

I entered the wood.     
    The maple limbs long;
the cherry limbs dead.
The fragrance was good.    
    I burst out in song
and chewed my rough bread.

A circle of light    
    invaded the trees
o’erwhelming my eyes.
The wood shrank from sight     
    like fog in the breeze.
I looked up the rise.

The great sky aloft    
    was bluer than blue
with green grass below.
And, softer than soft,     
    It dazzled with dew
In the mid-morning glow.

A field without end    
    awave in the wind.
I marveled a space.
No daring would send    
    Me in, lest I sinned
and tarnished the place.

And then, without thought,   
    I wandered away
Back in to the shade,
Forgetting the spot,    
    Nor marking the way
my wandering made.

I never could find    
    that vision again,
Though many times trying.
Did I become blind?    
    If so, then how? When?
Was memory lying?

It’s now been worn thin   
    with asking how true,
or if my dreams lie.
And so it folds in    
    and vanishes through
the hole in the sky.

2
Share this post
The Hole in the Sky
utopianidiots.substack.com
2 Comments

Create your profile

0 subscriptions will be displayed on your profile (edit)

Skip for now

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.

Nancy Chiasson
Apr 21Liked by John Jalsevac

So amazing to receive this on Holy Thursday just before the service of the 12 passions of Christ, the burial services and the resurrection - Holy Pascha - Christ is risen! Trampling down death by death! I am praying for you Will. Pray for me a sinner. You are sorely missed, but we will meet again!

Expand full comment
ReplyCollapse
Michael Austen
Apr 21

Impressive - ABCABC requires a lot of forethought to scheme.

Expand full comment
ReplyCollapse
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2022 John Jalsevac
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Publish on Substack Get the app
Substack is the home for great writing