Adrian Henri shared his passionate nightlife in his beautiful poetry last week on Poem For Your Thoughts.  This week’s comment comes from another member of the Newspaper Staff, Zach Ehling:

Mate, I really enjoyed the poem. I think it is remarkable how people will bury their emotions out of fear of rejection rather than take a chance in making them known. If nothing else, your poem should serve a reminder to us that nothing has to be complex; if you want to ask somebody out, the worst they can say is “no.” Better to have taken a chance than to live and die with the self-image of “failure.”

Thank you so much for the input and I absolutely agree! I encourage you to continue posting comments on each weekly edition of this column and you just might end up in next week’s article! Each edition will include two poems, the first being a featured piece written by a famous poet that will be analyzed and interpreted according to my point of view. Of course, everyone’s interpretation is different and valid, and the comment section will be open for any further discussion. The second piece is written by yours truly and will be open to complete interpretation and analysis. Go forth, enjoy, and as you read, remember: “It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau

Poem One: Morning at the Window by T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,
And along the trampled edges of the street
I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids
Sprouting despondently at area gates.

The brown waves of fog toss up to me
Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,
And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts
An aimless smile that hovers in the air
And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

Thoughts: Without a doubt one of the most influential poets of the 20th century, T.S. Eliot elegantly describes everyday life and trivial tasks in poems such as Naming of the Cats and this poem. When I read this poem, I imagine the speaker sitting at a small table adjacent to the window. As he stares out the window, observing the “brown waves of fog” that wisp past his view, the faces of each passerby. The speaker is entranced with his surroundings but notices the mundane details at which most people would never take a second glance. Eliot goes beyond the glare of the window-pane to reveal the subtle beauty and turmoil that molds into our world, and reminds us to always look past the surface of what you see and truly discover the subtleties and deeper meanings of everyday life. A lovely poem of insight and beauty.

Poem Two: Brave New Beginning by D.C.

The sun broke through the rain sopped clouds for the first time today.

Broad beams of light, unhindered by man’s solitude.

Loneliness and melancholy disappeared in the rage of the storm.

Standing akimbo, she sarcastically awaits his school boy smile.

High and lofty trees float overhead, casting dreams upon the pavement.

A dulcet breeze whispers a love song in the falling leaves.

Sweeping past her sun kissed hair, his eyes dilate and freeze.

That moment, that irreplaceable second, she was incomparable.

The words in his head fleeted home to the warmth of their fires.

Chilling memories of past affection were lost in her eyes.

Eyes of a tranquil forest in a penultimate spring afternoon.

Nothing compares to meeting her gaze, except when eyes close shut.

If you were to look around you each morning, how would it compare to Eliot’s views? What do you think my poem describes? Give your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below and look for the next edition of Poem For Your Thoughts released every Friday!