The Progression

The Progression

I.

I took my icy water in white cups

when we sipped the evening’s streams

beside the round lava rocks

freezing our forest with dreams.

II.

I take tiny cups
 with icy water from the evening’s wells
 when we dip them with deep
 dips in dreaming wells

beside my tick tocking clock
 on my mantle of bells.

III.

I dip them pell-mell,
 the white cups
 in the dipping well
 of my deep dipping dreams

and
 I think thoughts,
 and thoughts and droughts,
 beside the lithe, long legs of the thinking tree

when I dip my pen
 in deep letters
 that aren’t the words I mean to say.

IV.

And at last we
 forgive our human language,
 you and me,

in deep wells beside the round, rocking tree

where I
 dreamt of the deep deeps

and the deep,
 rocking hum of the earth
 dreamt and dreams.

V.

And there were round founts
 where I froze my deeps with dreams
 around round river mounts
 in the light of day,

and there were uncovered founts
 by the long legs of the tree

when we dipped our pens
 in deep letters
 that weren’t the words we meant to say,
 when nostalgia transpired,

and there was heaven
 gesturing toward
 its gates all along;

that is all
 we really needed after all,
 that is all.

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Ben Plunkett

Greetings from the booming metropolis that is Pleasant View, Tennessee. I am a man of constant spiritual highs and spiritual lows. I pray that I serve God at my highest even when I am lowest.

Ben was a founding member of Rambling Ever On and a regular contributor and editor until his untimely death in April 2020.

We wrote a tribute to him, but the best tribute you can give him would be to read all the wonderful poems, short stories, book reviews, theological essays, and ridiculous satire pieces he wrote for us. Pass them on to others and maybe allow Ben to inspire you to write something yourself.

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