Lost
A writers book of poems lost.
Forgotten, misplaced, left for dead,
To shiver on the corner of a bench.
She shrinks from passing eyes that walk
On bye, and never seem to care.
She carries her poets heart inside.
And surely he’ll return to save
Their children born of ink and booze.
He must be worried sick to know
His thoughts are homeless in the park.
The frigid wind against her spine
Is gentle now, but threatens harm
Upon return, when sun has gone
away, and all are under rule
Of callous eyes of stars and moon.
Posted Apr 24, 2022, 9:38 PM UTC
147
very cool poem, the personification was very interesting, ill just try elaborate what was going through my head as i read it with some afterthoughts mixed in: from one perspective i read that the poem referred to (within this poem) was personified as a person, female, homeless, exposed to cold weather, shy of peoples observations - btw nice bye/by double meaning, it gives sense of things fleeting, devaluing the person/poem on the bench. poets heart as a meagre property, intimate feeling yet meek/humble.
then 'surely' immediately implied a sense of false hope, like she was trying to convince herself that 'he' would return even though 'he' wont. now the poems are personified as children belonging to 'him' - at this point im confused about poem being both 'her ' and children which made me stop and think about the poem: as if the female represented a personification of the poems per se/in general, and the children were individual poems born out of the union of both the female poetic heart and the male author/corporeal person- i got the sense that author was male at this point, whereas before i thought you were female. "born of ink and booze" had an earthy feel, sort of depressing feel to it but kinda masculine? "he must be worried sick" is a common cliche'd phrase for parents worried abt their children, which makes it feel pretty domestic, poems/thoughts/children/book of lost poems/shivering woman as being homeless in park, exposed to harsh cold weather, instable environment.
Up 'til now i could fit everything into one neat-ish picture, but i got pretty confused at this point because i couldnt interpret it with what i had interpreted so far - upon return (who's return, the man's?), sun has gone - loss of hope/inspiration, perhaps loss of muse for poem writing, or the poems have died, when left for dead in the bench, or forgotten by author. "all under rule of callous eyes" - i got totalitarian dystopia vibes here, 1984ish, "eyes of stars and moon" completely threw me off, but complemented moonlikeness of the feminine poetic figure in the cold environment.
overall i think it was about leaving poems to be forgotten and unobserved by others, and the sadness of that, so i hope that my reading and comment serve to save this poem from sitting on a bench freezing to death :)