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DaveS
New Member

since 1999-07-07

Posts 5
Hawthorne, CA, Los Angeles

0 posted 1999-07-09 07:20 PM

EMPTY MAN ON NARROW LEDGE
by DaveS

On my way to challenge the sea,
I had some water thrown on me,
And, as the wind blew chill that day,
Considered, I, the misery
The future had in store for me,
And, then and there, I lost my way.

I faltered in my pace, my stride
Did break on path ten paces wide
That led down to the water's edge.
And when I reached the ocean side,
The joy I'd always known had died.
Stood empty man on narrow ledge.

There I lived, so balanced I,
With one foot wet, the other dry,
Pretending that this in-between,
Impervious to land and tide,
In false, unfailing, foolish pride,
Was where I had set out to be.

One day, the sea rose high and sent
A mighty wave, my claim to rent.
To me that wat'ry specter spoke:
"Now be ye, want ye, gladly wet,
"Or get thy sadness from my tent."
And in my heart new life awoke.

Emancipated from torment,
I cursed the ledge, and all it meant.
Immersed in rediscovered hope,
Inland, from the shore I went,
Amidst the human element,
In search of love and broader scope.

Sally S.
Senior Member

since 1999-06-07

Posts 847
Ohio

1 posted 1999-07-09 07:44 PM

Oh, if I could write so well. This is one of the best I've seen..really. I mean, I'm no expert....far from it I'd say....but this poem is very good. It moved so well and I envinsioned every scene. Wonderful job.

elvira
Senior Member

since 1999-07-06

Posts 936
California

2 posted 1999-07-09 08:41 PM

i have to borrow from shakespeare for my reply "one foot in sea...and one ashore...to one thing constant never" you described it most eloquently....the misery of indecision

------------------
i never call a poem "nice" or such,
for that would not be saying much

Nan

Administrator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-05-20

Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA

3 posted 1999-07-10 05:04 PM

Dave this is really exceptional - and as such deserves to be front and center.

I do LOVE well-crafted poetry - You do indeed have much to say, Dave...

thursdayschild
Member

since 1999-07-01

Posts 169
Houston, Tx.

4 posted 1999-07-10 06:07 PM

elegantly meditative, lovely ending....
"immersed in rediscovered hope"...wonderful!

aziza
Member Elite

since 2006-07-09

Posts 2995
Lumpy Oatmeal makes me Crazy!

5 posted 2007-05-30 10:06 PM

I wonder if Dave S is still among the poets of PiP -- He only posted 5 times, but this poem is really good. Wonder why he stopped posting ..

Ever Wondering Alison

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