Poem: Regeneration

Books & Poetry

Wednesday December 04, 2013 Comments

Comments Print article

This poem is from SA-based writer Valerie Volk, whose fourth book, Passion Play – The Oberammergau Tales, was launched in Adelaide and interstate last month.

Regeneration

Out of charred embers and black ashes
rises,
crested, purpled, royal, phoenix-like,
a promise of renewal –
and hope.

Out of the deadness of a grey cocoon
erupts
a thing of beauty,
wings translucent, quivering in the morning light –
and hope.

Out of an exhausted body, racked by pains,
bursts forth
a child, naked, riding the universe,
a pledge that life goes on –
and hope.

Out of the pit of bleak despair
I fight my way
to restoration, and regeneration,
a faith in future happiness –
with hope.

Valerie Volk is a former teacher, lecturer and education program director whose award-winning poetry and short stories have been widely published in journals and anthologies. Passion Play – The Oberammergau Tales is her second verse novel.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems up to 30 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.

Make a comment View comment guidelines

Jump to next article

Support local arts journalism

Your support will help us continue the important work of InReview in publishing free professional journalism that celebrates, interrogates and amplifies arts and culture in South Australia.

Donate Here

Comments

Show comments

Will my comment be published? Read the guidelines.

. You are free to republish the text and graphics contained in this article online and in print, on the condition that you follow our republishing guidelines.

You must attribute the author and note prominently that the article was originally published by InReview. You must also inlude a link to InReview. Please note that images are not generally included in this creative commons licence as in most cases we are not the copyright owner. However, if the image has an InReview photographer credit or is marked as “supplied”, you are free to republish it with the appropriate credits.

We recommend you set the canonical link of this content to https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2013/12/04/poem-regeneration/ to insure that your SEO is not penalised.

<h1>Poem: Regeneration</h1>

<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/compiled-by-john-miles/" class="author">Compiled by John Miles</a></address>
											
							This poem is from SA-based writer Valerie Volk, whose fourth book, Passion Play – The Oberammergau Tales, was launched in Adelaide and interstate last month.
<h4><a href="#regeneration" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="regeneration"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Regeneration</h4>
Out of charred embers and black ashes 
rises, 
crested, purpled, royal, phoenix-like, 
a promise of renewal – 
and hope.
Out of the deadness of a grey cocoon 
erupts 
a thing of beauty, 
wings translucent, quivering in the morning light – 
and hope.
Out of an exhausted body, racked by pains, 
bursts forth 
a child, naked, riding the universe, 
a pledge that life goes on – 
and hope.
Out of the pit of bleak despair 
I fight my way 
to restoration, and regeneration, 
a faith in future happiness – 
with hope.
 Valerie Volk is a former teacher, lecturer and education program director whose award-winning poetry and short stories have been widely published in journals and anthologies. Passion Play – The Oberammergau Tales is her second verse novel.
Readers’ original and unpublished poems up to 30 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to <a href="mailto:poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au">poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au</a>. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.
 
							This article is republished from <a href="https://inreview.com.au" target=_blank rel="canonical">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2013/12/04/poem-regeneration/" target=_blank rel="canonical">original article</a>.
							<link href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2013/12/04/poem-regeneration/" rel="canonical">

<a href="https://inreview.com.au" target="_blank" rel="noopener">InReview</a> is an open access, non-profit arts and culture journalism project. Readers can <a href="https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2E9q0000008PVN/inreview-sa-20222023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">support our work with a donation</a>. Subscribe to InReview’s free weekly newsletter <a href="https://inreview.com.au/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
							<img src="https://inreview.com.au/pixel2.png?cc_article=poem-regeneration" width="1" height="1">

Copied to Clipboard