Harvest Moon

i think its done...

Oh! There was a time, when I, when I did sleep.

But no! I did not dream!

I was like a corpse upon my bed,

Barely even existing in my darkness.

But as the blackest blacks came forth,

And as the clock struck twelve,

I dreamt!

I thought!

And I arose:

 

“Talking, talking, spinning a web of words,   

Pale walls of dreams   

Between myself and all I see”   

Pacing about my mind,   

Behind pale walls of words   

And dreams of poetry.   

 

Talking, talking, pacing, breathing the sobering   

Midnight air.   

Harvesting the harvest moon,   

That hangs so low, and glows so fair.   

   

---

 

Oh, thank you, thank you, “Harvest Moon,”

For shining my own light on me.

Pale walls of words and dreams of you,

That I, I write; and harvest thee.

 

Oh! Now the sun does take his rest

         And all his light is gone, digressed.

Thus time itself is static, is unchanging,

         Time is stopped.

He listens for, he listens for,

         “tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock”

But in his dreamless mind he knows,

         No sound will reach his ears.

And so he sleeps, he sleeps, he sleeps,

         He suffers through the years.

 

His corpse upon his bed, it does not dream,

         It does not stir.

Time is stopped, there is no clock,

         To chime or speak a wakeful word.

And so the sun! The son! The son!

         The sun, he will not rise.

 

---

 

Oh! You! Harvest moon! Let your moonlight

         Shine!

Let me write, to write, to write; to harvest

         Pale walled dreams from thee.

Talking, taking, writing, pacing,

         Spinning a web of words!

Crafting from your light

         Pale walls of dreams for all to see.

 

Talking, writing, pacing, breathing the

         Sobering midnight air.

I harvest you, oh harvest moon

         Who hangs so low, and glows so fair.

 

 

Now speak! Speak, oh glowing one;

Say, is your light not but the sun’s?

 

The sun’s light never did go down,

         It’s glowing, glowing, all around.

Time’s no longer static, it has changed,

         It is not stopped.

So I listen, listen for,

         “tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock”

And oh! Behold! There is a sound!

         It’s ringing in my ears!

Oh yes! The sun, he will not sleep,

         Or suffer through the years!

Yes! The sun, the son of eve,

         The son of eve will rise!

Yes, I, the sun, the son, the son:

         I have dreamt…

         And I have thought…

I truly have arisen!

 

Now speak! Speak, oh glowing one,

Say, is your light not but the sun’s!

         Reflected to the darkest nights,

         To keep the midnight chime alive?

To wake this dreamer’s dreamless mind?

 

So I may write you, write you down,

And let my light shine all around?

So I may breathe out life for thee?

Now is it you who harvests me?

 

---

 

Speak! Speak, oh glowing one:

Now is it you who harvests me?!

 

Author's Note

** from Grendel by John Gardner; Chapter 1, Page 8
(really good book)

it has a spoken word pace and vibe to it, but has depth that could never be understood by merely hearing it
but I am gonna record it and put an audio file up here with the text, just so y'all can hear it as well as read it

Reviews

[Riley Mistwood]

cool poem

[Shawn Killian]

This is a truly amazing poem. The words that you use are like music to me. I can certainly see why my friend says that you are a great writer

[floarealbastra10]

wow, amazing words

[J.P. Bristow]

Now is it you who harvests me...wonderful. You should evoca this or youtube it so readers can understand the pace you intended.

[Tate Morgan]

I didnt understand it

[Jeannie Wilder]

Oh wow! this is not what I was expecting from you ( although what to expect from a random person -- I don't know) I actually only clicked on this one because you're using the same image as I am for one of my pieces. (I love this image!) But as far as the piece goes... I think this is absolutely splendid. It has such a great rhythm and feel to it.
My favorite line:
"Now speak! Speak, oh glowing one,
Say, is your light not but the sun’s!"
All I can say is well done!

[Starting Over]

My favorite line:
Oh, thank you, thank you, “Harvest Moon,”
For shining my own light on me.
Pale walls of words and dreams of you,
That I, I write; and harvest thee.

John is is like Epically AMAZING!!!!!! you did a fantastic job with this write!

A brilliant bout of passion.

[The Wave]

love the style of this

you wrote this really well , and i love when u said, "Now is it you who harvests me?"
great first draft!
good job

[Sarah Marie]

you know john, this is probably your best poem since ashes form a man in my opinion. i love this. every word just fit so well and the flow of the poem kept me wanting to read more and more. the rhythm was so catching. i truly so love this poem. you've don it again big brother :) keep it up.