If you have read The Silver Chair from C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, you no doubt remember Puddleglum, the lanky Marsh-Wiggle who travels northward with Eustace and Jill on their quest to find Prince Rilian.
If you haven’t read it, just know that Puddleglum is the Eeyore of Narnia. In his perspective, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
And yet …
When it comes down to it, he is the one who reminds the others that there is indeed hope. That there is sunshine, that there are stars and trees and an ocean, that there is beauty even when everything around is dark.
I didn't realize, when I got started with this found poem, just how meaningful it would be for me this week. With a loved one again struggling with certain anxieties and fears, and me seeking signs of meaning and hope, Puddleglum is just the character I needed to hear from today.
Maybe it will be the same for you.
Remembering Sunlit Lands
a found poem
When I say good
I don't mean it won't probably turn to rain
or it might be snow,
or fog, or thunder.
making the best of a bad job
we're not likely to get very far
what with enemies, and mountains, and rivers
to cross, and losing our way
I don't suppose we shall ever see the King
Look over there northward
there's a river between it and us;
No bridges, of course.
Anyone you meet in a place
like this is as likely as not to be an enemy
We're under a curse, I
expect
Whatever you do, don't run.
They've seen us. Run.
few return to the sunlit lands
There are no
accidents.
danger and lies
and magic and treason
Can we trust one another?
I was there once. I've seen the sky
full of stars. I've seen the sun coming
up out of the sea of a morning and sinking
behind the mountains at night.
Suppose we have only dreamed—trees and grass
and sun and moon and stars
Suppose this black pit … is the only world. It strikes
me as a pretty poor one.
I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't
any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live
as like a Narnian as I can even
if there isn't any Narnia.
we're … setting out in the dark to spend
our lives looking
we may as well make a try.
In the words of Puddleglum, we may as well make a try.
I too love Puddleglum. Excellent work!
It gets better and better with each readthrough.