The moon, that sad man,Comes through tears and protestations,That sad man.
His almond eyes heavyIn shadowy backyard half-lightStay awake.
Disenchanted starsStand still while mourning dovesStay awake.
I sleep, wake, toss,I sleep, wake from screaming,Stay awake.
The sad man sighs downGrasping heartbeams and resisting arrest,That sad man.
#12 of 30 in April. Grace challenged the Real Toads to be inspired by the poetry of Wallace Stevens, someone whose poetry has long been an inspiration to me. This poem is something of a response to his poem The Brave Man. Not long ago I wrote this one: Ways of Looking at the Snow Moon
This is haunting, Marian.
ReplyDeleteThe refrain of That sad man is very good Marian ~ The contrast in that stanza is particularly striking for me ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up with Sunday's Challenge & wishing you happy week ~
This is stunning, such a beautiful counterpart to Stevens' poem. Love it! (wish I'd written it)
ReplyDeleteFun reading, Marian. I feel a bit sorry for him. If he'd shuck the guy IN the moon he might feel a lot better. Free ride that guy is getting.
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This is beautiful and bewilderingly melancholy all at once. Really good write.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful poem. The melancholy and loneliness painted as the loneliness of moon is amazing.
ReplyDelete"The sad man sighs down Grasping heartbeams and resisting arrest" Love that line. It seems it is such a melancholy moon.
ReplyDeleteechoing MZ and Mark ~
ReplyDeleteHaunting! (Which I now see Mama Zen said too.)
ReplyDeleteDisenchanted stars
ReplyDeleteStand still while mourning doves
Stay awake.... sadness seems to permeate everything in your poem as it does in reality when we become that sad man, too.
this reminds me of the second stanza of Shelley's The Moon...beautifully woven
ReplyDeleteBeautifully haunting....!!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Love the idea of the moon as a sad man!
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