Sunday, December 11, 2011

A funny thing happened on the way to a magpie


I Drown
by Lemuel Crouse

I drown in your absence,
Gasping, flailing, sputtering
Like a boat motor guttering
Out on the last bit of gasoline.

I cling, fling, grasp for oars,
Bringing all down with me,
Like a man overboard
Not wanting to die alone.

Gone is reason, sense,
Any essence of my pride,
Like a tribe of sand crabs
Scattering before the gulls.

As I founder, ever deeper,
That old reaper closes in
Like the tide, sweeping
Ever higher up the beach.

A grand peach of a pit,
Stranded thus in this bind,
Like finally learning one is
Stale, fit only to be cast out.

I am but a bitter-sweet tale
Of woes compounded,
Like Crane's Open Boat, if it
Ran aground on quicksand.



This is a Magpie Tale. For more, or to participate, click here!

16 comments:

Margaret said...

I am a bitter-sweet tale
Of woes compounded

Liked that a lot. I hope his love returns quickly!

Isabel Doyle said...

Oh the longing ...

NCmountainwoman said...

What a poignant poem, beautifully describing the loss (temporarily or permanently) of love. Such a stong message that rings so true. Need I say how much I loved it?

Kathe W. said...

without our loves we are overboard- lovely poem.

Other Mary said...

Oh, really well done. I like the drowning and beach images. The internal rhyme of 'deeper' and 'reaper' in S4 is great. Your opening line just pulls the reader in...so to speak.

Stafford Ray said...

A very strong picture of desperation we all suffer if we let ourselves stay there too long, but the title; 'A funny thing happened on the way to a magpie' is blatant misrepresentation! :-)

robkistner said...

this piece resonated familiarity...

willow said...

Beautiful write, my friend. I especially like "grand peach of a pit"...I like the Sondheim reference...

willow said...

Oops...signed in as my old "Willow" avatar...but you know who I am...

Carolina Linthead said...

I do, indeed, know who you are, my friend...thank you for your kind words...I'm glad you like the peach of a pit line, which was added later in the day :-)

Doctor FTSE said...

Very fine poem.

Glenn Buttkus said...

Bittersweet, poignant, and focused,
this piece sings a ballad of loss.
In S4, are you "foundering" or
"floundering"? Kind of lost me
there. Somehow by the close of
this, you string several notes of
hope, of accommodation; really
like it.

Brian Miller said...

ah doc you seem to have left us all in the bitter sweet tonight...i hope his love is not far gone...

hyperCRYPTICal said...

A fine poem indeed.

Anna :o]

Dave King said...

Quite simply, brilliant.

lucychili said...

your poem is evocative
and reflects the image