Old Man

Where grass and bending flowers Grew once like the weeds The field empty and barren For lack of sowing seeds

 

The old gray man alone now

attends to his dusty fields

Watering the emptiness

where the land no longer yields

______________________________

He wove his web of fashions

from the tears his pains had sprung

Where once he sang of starlight

back when both their hearts were young

______________________________

Then came the winds a-calling

turned to run a-hoping sure

To reach where she was lying

 sharing pains they'd both endure

_____________________________

The gales did blow around him

precious memories, he'd miss

Drops would fall upon his lips

those that hers would never kiss

______________________________

Where grass and bending flowers 

grew together like the weeds

Lie meadows all but barren

for the lack of sowing seeds

______________________________

The blushing, blowing Poppies

that once grew all around near

Fill the fields with memories

of the love he once lost here

______________________________

Each time he treads on his land

howling, sow-west winds a-blow

Not belonging, feels the longing

 mercy only God may know

Author's Note

I knew a man like this once. His life all but lived. He patiently waited for the end.Which wasn't long in coming. Children give us the legacy that makes the bitterness of our short life more tolerable

Reviews

[Devanshu Rajput]

This is one of the finest piece of poetry that, that I ever came across on this earth. What, flabbergasts me is not only the structure, but the story, that touches my heart.

This masterpiece is like nothing. Your note, deeply moved me. Indeed, kindness and humanity is something that can be felt, by everyone. In a nutshell,

"Compassion is an universal language''

Thanks, for bringing to fore this, piece.

Devanshu

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you Dev I thought i had responded to this from you I see i havent.

[Devanshu Rajput]

I'm glad you responded late, because this way, I got to read your piece again.

You're welcome. Take care.

Devanshu

[Tate Morgan]

Thank you young man

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

Oh, this is a sad poem , poor man. The picture is stunning.
Appropriate song. You put a lot of work into your writing and it shows, all your poetry
is well written and sends us all a needed message or lesson..
I can't choose a favorite verse all are good as is the flow when reading this.

Chloe

your note makes me think of a line from a movie i forget the title , the line is ' either get busy livin' or get busy dyin' ..

[G. Marie"floating on an..]

Wow why did i know that song was to appear?? lol very profound poem love your word choices good flow overall good poem(oh and by the way i am a huge beatle fan)

[Sheila Kline]

Tate, I think you don't know how to write a poem that is not absolutely "top shelf".......and this is yet another to be added to the list!
It is memorable.........especially hitting is

For now the blowing Poppies
that once grew all round near
Only populate fields of memory
with the love he once lost here............says so much!

[deeps]

Awesome picture!
This is so wonderful so full of life.
Amazing work here.

100/100

[Nayan]

Oh! Tate! Such vivid description that I can feel that I was seeing the old man walking through his once green, now barren field...

Thanks Tate... Thanks for sharing the gift.

[Charles]

This is a lovely poem that does great justice to the awe-inspiring picture you appended to it. The first two stanzas are particularly strong. You use some unusual rhymes (sprung/sun, sure/her for example) which is testimony to one of your strengths in poetry. The meter is a bit irregular (which, as you know, is never a problem for me) but raises the question of whether the poem would be better by letting the meter flow even more (I say this because there are some lines where the meter seems forced - words inserted for the obvious purpose of adding a beat or two). I tried a less strict approach to meter myself and thought the poem improved as a consequence. I wonder whether there is significance to Gail's rather than gales in the fourth stanza. The way the theme flows so easily from stanza to stanza is (as another reviewer said) quite nicely done. Good job on this one, though I'd urge you to polish it a bit (there is real potential here). :-)

[Fallacy Pharmacy]

This is breathtaking. Very melancholic and sad. The flow is amazing, the words just read so beautifully together... I love this poem, and the music choice!