Homage to a Child

Though I cant quite understand what its meant to mean, I think the imagery you conjure is powerful and the rhythm is wistful and melancholy. It makes me think of a child who is missing maybe gone to war or gone travelling, and the parent is longing and worried but powerless to change things. I like it!

“My boy without sown soil. My boy without learned love.”

Evokes images of a nomad, rolling stone, a loner. Learned love makes me think nature vs nurture. Without Learned love, but with instinctive love?

“No water or sun to boil, wheat pierces skies from above.”

So we have no water, no sun, no soil. Where are we? Perhaps Air? If we need sun to boil, we’re boiling water, we have no potable water? Or no water good for watering crops. Perhaps we have sea water. Wheat pierced skies FROM above confuses;m and makes reader think. wheat normally grows up from sown soil (which we don’t have) and pierces the sky FROM BELOW (wheat is below sky). I’m thinking of a reflection, a pond…

“By the sheen of moonlight, heading towards your demand,”

Sheen of moonlights also evokes reflections in water. Heading towards your demand makes me think the parent is trying to get what the child wants.

“wheel in hand, sail at night. And the tide will bring you sand.”

Love the line, sounds wise, like a spiritual. If the tide brings you to sand (your destination), you’re sort of riding the waves, along for the ride, not propelling yourself, at natures mercy. Reminds me of first two lines and learned love.

“My boy, with your tender spirit. My boy, with your caustic tears.”

Caustic tears is powerful, I take it as how a parent feels their child’s pain so deeply

“The sky is your only limit, along with those wicked fears.”

We’re talking about the sky yet again. Last time we talked about the sky, wheat was piercing it, so aggressive. Now the sky is the limit (positive) but we’re thinking of something wicked, demons, fears, which are holding boy back.

“By the sheen of moonlight, heading towards your demand,”

Repetition gives again the feeling of a sailors song, wisdom through art, experience of course we’re hoping for the comfort of the last chorus about how the tide will bring you home …

“and no land in your sight, there's a sea for you to stand.”

A twist, no sand after all. A sea for you to stand? What does stand mean here? Stand as in, put up with? Stand as in, stand upon, walk on water like Jesus? I don’t know, but “for you” means if there’s one thing boy has, it’s the sea.

Beautiful poem, haunting, comforting, mournful, wise. Feels like the tale of a parent who sees their child’s troubles but can only write of them. Thank you for sharing.

love the imagery in this poem! i can definitely picture the sea and the night sky. it also seems as though this poem may be about a neglected child having to raise himself? well done!

I like the images of nature and yet tenderness of this poem, it sounds like a lullaby. I wonder if the title could fit more sonically with the tones in the poem itself, instead of 'homage to a child' which is syllable-heavy, maybe something shorter and with softer consonants, to draw the reader into the work, maybe something like Wheat, Sea, Boy -- something said in a whisper.

I like the theme through a fathers eyes

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This reminds me of a poem from home called 'Berceuse', which also has a lullaby feel to it. A calming, dreamy sort of poem like this one.

If it was mine, I'd tweak the third line of the second stanza to exclude the word "hand", because it takes away from your demand/sand.

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