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Tony Abbot
Member
since 2000-11-18
Posts 209
North Wales,UK

0 posted 2000-12-18 07:49 PM


One winter night,dulled with solitude's ache,
I took to bed to pass the slow, grey hours,
While outside, wind shook the bare bowers,
Troubling my mind as I lay awake.

In the borderlands, from some seraph's lair,
Fate shot an arrow from her silver bow,
Light entered the room , like a taper's glow,
As if an answer to some vesper prayer.

A white figure appeared beside my bed,
She spoke her name, her voice was soft and sweet,
I felt light as she pulled me to my feet,
Though before my body had felt like lead.

A strange feeling that we had met before,
Occurred to me, as we walked down the stairs,
And as we stepped into the cold night air,
I noticed her feet barely touched the floor.

As she gently spoke of my troubled plight,
I gazed at her hair of golden wire,
That echoed like a trail of fire,
And her sapphire eyes that lit the night.

She told me that I had strayed from the path,
And wandered into the slough of despair,
Now, enveloped in gloom, was unaware,
That no longer did I smile or laugh.

That the jaws of winter would pull me deep,
Further into sorrow's grasp than before,
Was the worry that brought her to my door,
She feared I might force a longer sleep.

As I listened to her words of harsh truth,
We went to trace the path of my decay,
First, to the place where I began my days,
Then to the long forgotten haunts of youth.

The woods, where I walked in halcyon days,
By the stream, where I stood to watch its ebb,
The branches woven like a spider's web,
And now enwreathed in twilight's misty haze.

Then to the sable grove, where I used to dwell,
With one,elusive,and so long pursued,
In the whirlwind of her quicksilver moods,
This was where our love tolled its passing bell.

All these memories had I dragged like chains,
Dusty urns of dreams I had tried to forget,
A charnel-house full of bitter regrets,
That,before,I thought time's scythe had slain.

Now I could see how I had lost my way,
The past years had been a slow descent,
From the idyll of youth to days ill spent,
So sad to see how I'd been led astray.

But now these demons had been exorcised,
The ashes, at last, blown from the embers,
At peace with all that I could remember,
And like a phoenix, I began to rise.

Before, I had lived behind prison bars,
Only weary bones and lustreless eyes,
She taught me to look for where beauty lies,
To gaze again at wonder at the stars.

In my darkest night,I had been reborn,
I had glimpsed the heaven that follows hell,
She took me home, to what had been my cell,
And sat beside me as I slept till dawn.

A velvet blanket of soft, drifted snow,
Awaited me, as I awoke alone,
Without trace, she had left,as if she'd flown,
But angels leave no footprints when they go.

< !signature-->

'Humankind cannot bear too much reality' T.S.Eliot



[This message has been edited by Tony Abbot (edited 12-18-2000).]

© Copyright 2000 Tony Abbot - All Rights Reserved
Tony Abbot
Member
since 2000-11-18
Posts 209
North Wales,UK
1 posted 2000-12-18 09:14 PM


I've fixed the typo's now.

'Humankind cannot bear too much reality' T.S.Eliot

Janet Marie
Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554

2 posted 2000-12-18 09:29 PM


In the borderlands, from some seraph's lair,
Fate shot an arrow from her silver bow,
Light entered the room , like a taper's glow,
As if an answer to some vesper prayer.

A white figure appeared beside my bed,
She spoke her name, her voice was soft and sweet,
I felt light as she pulled me to my feet,
Though before my body had felt like lead.

A strange feeling that we had met before,
Occurred to me, as we walked down the stairs,
And as we stepped into the cold night air,
I noticed her feet barely touched the floor.

As she gently spoke of my troubled plight,
I gazed at her hair of golden wire,
That echoed like a trail of fire,
And her sapphire eyes that lit the night.
================
The woods, where I walked in halcyon days,
By the stream, where I stood to watch its ebb,
The branches woven like a spider's web,
And now enwreathed in twilight's misty haze.

Then to the sable grove, where I used to dwell,
With one,elusive,and so long pursued,
In the whirlwind of her quicksilver moods,
This was where our love tolled its passing bell.

=====================
But now these demons had been exorcised,
The ashes, at last, blown from the embers,
At peace with all that I could remember,
And like a phoenix, I began to rise.

=========================

A velvet blanket of soft, drifted snow,
Awaited me, as I awoke alone,
Without trace, she had left,as if she'd flown,
But angels leave no footprints when they go.
===================
damn ... this is amazing ...
the superb imagery, the depth, the dark edge ...then the light at the end, the intensity of the emotions,(the torment defined) ...
the very cool rhyme scheme...the perfect poetic ending line ...
outstanding writing Tony ...very cool piece of poetry here...
will read this one more to take it all in.
jm


Some people find subtlety in strangers
if you find anything~let me in
Your eyes~you see everything
my eyes~I see it all together now~and I know

Tony Abbot
Member
since 2000-11-18
Posts 209
North Wales,UK
3 posted 2000-12-19 08:19 AM


Glad you enjoyed it,JM.

'Humankind cannot bear too much reality' T.S.Eliot

ethome
Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858
New Brunswick Canada
4 posted 2000-12-19 08:39 AM


Yeah I have to agree with Janet...powerful, spiritual and heartfelt write...I too love the soft warm nature of the angelic end of the poem...dam straight Tony...great write!!
Victoria
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Ascendant
since 2000-08-12
Posts 5869

5 posted 2000-12-19 09:37 AM


i loved it tony..and the wonderful ending too..nicely done

                     ~Victoria~


A poem is never finished, only abandoned.
- Paul Valery (1871-1945)



Tony Abbot
Member
since 2000-11-18
Posts 209
North Wales,UK
6 posted 2000-12-19 07:56 PM


Thanks,Ethome and victoria.

'Humankind cannot bear too much reality' T.S.Eliot

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