Welcome back to your poetry destination!  I hope last week’s edition was quite satisfactory. If there are any authors you would like to dive into or even a specific poem you would like to analyze, please let me know in the comment section below! 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: Dirge in Woods by George Meredith

A wind sways the pine,

And blow

Not a breath of wild air;

Still as the mosses that glow

One the flooring and over the lines

of the roots here and there.

The pine-tree drops its dead;

They are quiet, as under the sea.

Overhead, overhead

Rushes life in a race,

As the clouds the clouds chase;

And we go,

And we drop like the fruits of the tree,

Even we,

Even so.

Thoughts: This is a poet that even I am unfamiliar with. George Meredith was a writer in Victorian England and was so well respected he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times! I can see why he certainly deserved each nomination, because he is quite the eloquent writer. This funeral dirge carries a very solemn tone and evokes a sense of sadness, but also respect. As the speaker describes the dying of the forest and the the wind moving through its remains, we observe a picture of the delicate passing of life. The real kicker, however, is in the final two lines of the poem. Meredith connects the passing of all things in nature with the eventual passing of ourselves, and it shocks the reader into a realization: our time on Earth is just as limited as all the plants and animals that surround us. Although it is only expressed in four words, George Meredith puts death into plain view for the reader, but he presents it as something we should not fear, but accept and admire. A challenging, but incredibly deep and beautiful poem.

Poem Two: Clair de Lune by D.C.

The moonlight cascades the appearance of strain in her dance.

A ever-flowing stream of fluttering moonbeams trickles down

With each swan-like step she takes.

Oh, how the beauteous nature envies her vitality, spirit, simplicity.

She wisps through tall blades of grass in the courtyard.

The leaves of the trees gently caress the stone she glides to.

Light rustling and smooth scraping can be heard, but no other sound.

The forest, hanging on every twirl of her sundress, is silent.

In the light of the moon, her eyes illuminate with deep passion.

A passion for this world, her speechless audience, ever so captivated.

Words toil to give justice to this prepossessing scene,

But they fail, for no words can adequately describe the moon’s soul.

A child’s spring time dream, at long last, fulfilled.

Her bright burning hair transcends the dark of night to shimmer

In the wonder that is her moonlit serenade of dance.

Tears down her face, not of sorrow or mourning sadness, but joy.

Peace to the world,to him, a gift in the light of the moon.

-D.C.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of A Poem For Your Thoughts! Tune in next Friday for a new poet, two new poems, and a lifetime of wisdom trapped within the stanzas!