Enchantment
Maybe there will be a wind
from heaven to accentuate the screams,
a wild wave smashing the causeway.
A place in the hollow of a hand
to lay, to curl away
the sweep of the land
swept bare,
the hanged-man in the distance,
the water bearer
who soothes the silent soil--
there were such guardians
in the north
who would guide the hand
towards dawn
when the eyes drew in the sun,
small fists that rubbed the crusts away,
the ghosts
the old men who wander between hearths
leaving spells and enchantments
which coat the night with visions
so that there is no alone.
Reviews
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Greetings, Lute.
Several readings finally gave me an interpretation of the poem - a meaning, if you will - although the images in themselves, in each line, offered me some very enjoyable and intriguing images, even without a total interpretation of this emphemerally-styled poem.
Every line, in other words, is highly poetic and often quite original: "to accentuate the screams...", "the hanged-man in the distance", "...soothes the silent soil", "when the eyes drew in the sun", "the old men who wander between hearths" - those and others are strong and vivid lines.
As to the "meaning" of the whole, I still struggle, but I do sense a post-apocalytic world in which there will be, at least, some places of refuge for a new beginning: "a place in the hollow of a hand / to lay, to curl away..." And, despite that hanged man in the distance, a revenant of what has occurred, the soil will eventually be watered, children, ghosts and ancient wise men will bring remembrances, un-aloneness, perhaps even courage to begin again - surely an "enchantment."
My interpretation may be way off from your intentions here, but I do very much like the evocative images in this poem.
Lad -
I enjoyed the imagery
and the picture I was able to paint inside of my head. It is a very unique and otherworldly place that you speak of in this poem. Very broken down, more barbaric, not sure if it would have been a time in the past or if this could be about a time to come. It's possible it could be both. I'm not sure what the meaning is behind the poem but I didn't really care to find it b/c the words painted such a unique, almost enchanting place. So I guess ya don't really need one. Maybe you're trying to say that nobody is ever really alone?? that's all I could think of. But either way good write and thank you for sharing. Hope to hear from you soon.
TTYL
MM
Lad
December 25, 2007
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