In Somnium

‘Yet if hope has flown away
in a night, or in a day,
in a vision, or in none,
is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
is but a dream within a dream’. �"Edgar Allen Poe

Winter can be the toughest time.

Months of sinful snow and wresting wine;

Tales of hardship and gotten glee

which sting this heart of mine.

Oh truth, be in my dreams

and all the conceptions that I see.

What say the listening ears of yours

and the mind you feel agleam? 

In such acrid days, does your conscience

decipher between a fancy and a dream?

What is a dream? Do I think this frost

I walk over on the meads? 

Does my face reflect in ice when

my course grows weak and lean?

How I remember those summer months

where I had most of my pleasing dreams.

I stepped out early one sunny day

and I stumbled upon a solitary yellow flower

whose name I could not say. 

It swayed so gently in the breeze

that it caught my eye so eloquently. 

Its charm was so off balance like me. 

A little hint of beauty on these streets

of dishonour and decay

I could not help but think this shoot

was shaped especially for me.

When I next saw this plant it was fall

as I returned from a stroll on the beach.

Where I made the first footprints in

the wet sand and turned to recall them all

before they were trampled by the sea. 

Before my winter wonders did the same to me.

How still the world seemed

like a deep and endless dream. 

With this little yellow flower bent

and wilting in winter’s spring.

I do not deem anything in life

to be a hopeless dream.

Dreams are merely possibilities

no matter how eccentric they may seem. 

With this seraph upon my shoulder

of sprite and honour and pride

when my winter days grow colder

my eyes will still swell wide.

For they see the truth in life

as the fleeting ocean tides. 

Marching through marsh as sands

with the azure skyline bright

I close my eyes to dream

against the piercing dagger’s bite.

And I wonder of how my factions’

days consist of laughs and fear and screams.

Together we stand to face this final fight.

Tonight we lie and keen our abject dreams.

With our ordnance we

can both live and die tonight.

I close my eyes to dream

against the piercing dagger’s bite. 

With my ordnance I

might live or die tonight.  

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"laughs and fear and screams"

yep--that is Poe.

we live and die so many times in life...like a cat with nine lives.

how do you do it?

i don't like rhyme poetry much at all...but you are so subtle with it...and the words blend so well with the idea..i can't help but really like this piece.

jacob

[TheJordBaker]

thank you Jacob

[Bluefire]

This is amazing, the rhyming and word choice continued to surprise me throughout the poem. I love Edgar Allan Poe and am glad you included him into this, it's an inspirational poem.
Well done! ^^

[TheJordBaker]

Thank you :)

[Bluefire]

No problem ^^

[Kate Howell]

You write like a true professional, from the heart.
I admire this! Keep up the good work :)

[TheJordBaker]

thanks very much :)

[Carolann Dowsett]

Absolutely beautiful, such imagery and a sense of wonder hidden in the bleakness of winter.

[TheJordBaker]

thank you :)

[Adam Lebzo -RonninWarri..]

A fan of Poe is always a good writer, or to be
and you are a good writer! least to be said
Words are just a tool in your hands
Magnificent

[TheJordBaker]

thanks once again for your kind words, means a lot.

[spiritwind]

You astound me! How could this amount of poetic maturity be packed into 20 years of living? Wonderful, beautiful, subtle, a feast for a hungry mind.

[TheJordBaker]

thank you so much once again. supportive words such as yours can keep people going.

[.]

Beautiful work,Jordan. The imagery is phenomenal, and your rhyme scheme is executed perfectly. I can definitely sense that Poe inspiration within your lines. Great job-as always-,dear friend.

[TheJordBaker]

Thank you Cord