Poe, the Raven, and I

I have slipped to almost sixty,

near enough to sense

the dead season is just around

the corner. My quickening horizon:

I spend most mornings feeding

empty thoughts to hungry pigeons,

careful to keep one eye open

to the black hearted raven

circling above me--

my Poe moment.

When the pendulum swings me

back to a living idea

I gladly accept the option

of a bargain's renewal,

a living poem

for a withered soul:

one more chance

for resurrection--

I shoo the cooing pigeons,

pick up my pen and write.

Ken e Bujold

© 2022

Reviews

[Troy Dean]

This is very and well crafted honesty Ken, I like it ! this bit about the pendulum swinging you back to a living idea rings powerfully true to me

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for kind review Troy. as you age the pendulum becomes a rather powerful theme in life

[Troy Dean]

indeed it does, the reminders of that swing become more frequent with age. But I guess in turn that may help us sharpen our focus/gratitude on the swing towards life...

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Ah, Poe and his raven. I've heard the actual raven (Grip) was owned by Charles Dickens to which the poem refers. I have an article by Poe in one of my books on how to match the appropriate carpets with home decoration entitled "Philosophy of Furniture" in which he attests, " The abomination of flowers or representations of well-known objects of any kind, should not be endured within the limits of Christendom...Glare is a leading error in the philosophy of American household decoration-an error easily recognized as deduced from the perversion of taste." Not exactly your tell-tale heart. He also rants to some length about the Scots and the Persians and his hatred of plaid.

[Ken e Bujold]

well I can sort of concur on plaid, especially when it comes to jackets.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

It's probably not the height of wisdom to take fashion advice from men who wears skirts and stockings and eats sheep's stomachs. But they were my ancestors. I've a very nice dyed in the wool scarf from Ireland though. I think the price was about 35 Euro in Dublin. I wear it with my charcoal gray overcoat.

[Ken e Bujold]

i got some of them in me too. a mongrel here, french irish scot and brit..or as i am fond of saying my ancestors where the greatest of black sheep, kicked out of every nation they ever grazed upon

[Lorry]

I haven't read Poe in so long for fear that I would die a poets death too, just like him. But then I remembered to look on the bright side of life and have an occasional chuckle instead.
I bet if it was around in his day though, he'd have never done the monster mash, even at Halloween.
I like to think of him as an early goth, probably without eyeliner though 😊

[Ken e Bujold]

you are probably right lorry

[Laz K.]

Alluding to Poe and "The Raven" immediately creates a certain mood that works well for this poem, since both share the subject matter of death. This pomem has some remarkble phrases, such as "feeding empty thoughts to hungry pigeons". The reference to the "pendelum" is also a nice touch as it strengthens the connection to Poe and his dark, gothic, macabre world.

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks laz. the pendulum was the opening thought for this poem. rest was constructed around it

[carl]

Enjoy the read/thoughts/flow. The manner of your construction is quite fresh and unique to me, flows and carries throughout the piece. The bounce between reverie and reality (dead season, pendulum swing, resurrection) (empty thought vs a new poem) is very nice. Thanks for the post.

[Ken e Bujold]

glad you enjoyed the poem Carl, stop anytime

[red93]

Excellent Write Ken this works really well. Poe is a real gap in my knowledge but obviously The Raven is so famous even non Poe aficionados have heard of it.

[JD Major]

Good write, Ken, I enjoyed it in a macabre way ...
But take heart, 90-something is nowadays' expected-span, not 60. You've still got 3+ decades to become the NewPoe! :)

[Ken e Bujold]

90 i doubt, but won't discount since grandparents all lived past that with my maternal grandmother getting to 103. mother is still a dynamo at 83. but as a betting man, no not me. somedays my dear spouse hints, if I dont mind my p's and q's 61 might be a stretch :)

[JD Major]

Yes, it might be wise to use less of your P's & Q's poetically, and more Romantically, haha
...just kiddin, you're a gifted writer :)