I stand alone,
----though there are many around me,
And all think me happy
----for a smile rests on my face,
And I have a kind word for anyone who needs or wants it
----(and many do).
And yet, inside, deep inside, where no one goes but me,
----and worse, where no one else cares enough to go
If you listen close,
----you will hear.......
A whisper in the darkness, do you hear the world sigh,
As it sets its weary star to rest and gives the night its lullabye?
Can you hear the echoes calling 'cross the pyramids of time?
Does it all rest on your shoulders or does it all rest square on mine?
Tell me you don't feel it running restless through your soul
Tell me it's a phantom, ghost, imagination pieced yet whole.
Singing in the night skies it reaches well and far beyond
What men do dream in the midnight stream it collects in one great pond.
The waterfalls are sparkling, chiming sweetly through the pain
Can you feel the thunder or do you only feel the rain?
The lightning flashes 'cross the sky leaving images so long
Do you feel the earth shake, tell me, can you hear the song
Of passion deep and bittersweet dancing stars around your head?
Am I in the storm-wracked night or am I safely warm in bed?
What can this world do to me, can it tear my soul apart?
Can it leave me shattered in the gloom or will it leave my heart
Beating soft but strong inside my breast? Can my mind withstand the rush
That leaves me spinning dizzily? Or will it seek to crush
The last embers of my sanity? Does it feel the need to break?
The waves that crash o'ertop of me, will they ask or will they take?
Will you stand beside me or leave me lone there at the end?
Will you keep the spark alive or to the depths of hell, me send.
I kneel here begging silently, girl please don't leave me now.
I've only just begun to live let the chains not make me bow.
The lifeline that you've cast me, will it beat the cold dark wind
Or will it snap like brittle ice, leave me trapped alone again?
Don't tell me you don't need me. Don't leave me stranded there.
Just let me touch your cool, smooth skin, run my fingers through your hair.
A thousand times it's happened, me alone against the sea
And though I struggle back again each fight takes more from me.
All I ask is one more chance, just one more chance to love
Let stars decide 'twixt lions den or eagles nest above.
Rescue me sweet princess from Fate's o'erreaching grasp
Let me feel your lips on mine as hand in hand we clasp
A desp'rate voice is calling growing fainter with the time
And though I cannot hear it, I know that voice is mine.
I stand alone,
----though there are many around me,
And all think me happy
----for a smile rests on my face,
And I have a kind word for anyone who needs or wants it
----(and many do).
I stand alone,
----but not by choice.
For deep inside I'm calling
----For someone who cares enough to hear.
Thanks for reading.
Oh my, this is spectacular!! There is so much to this, I feel like I could come back to it many times and take away something new. My favourite line, today anyway, has to be "What men do dream in the midnight stream it collects in one great pond." The idea of us sharing this deeper connection, one mans pain is that of many, is beautiful, and true. I really like how you have framed the body between the start and end, it starts with you, as it echoes through many, the depth of unexpressed feelings given form, that desire for connection, and then it comes back to you, for although this is the story of many, it is also yours. Beautiful!
Thank you very much! It's a poem that I feel is a little over the top in some ways. I mean, there's so much crammed inside it that I feel it gets away from me a little bit but.....when I was writing it the images and words just kept coming so I kept throwing them down on the paper. lol
I do completely agree with you on the beginning and ending parts. I really think they kind of settle the middle part down some bringing it back home to a more personal level. Thank you for getting that.
My favorite line(s) is "A thousand times it's happened, me alone against the sea/ And though I struggle back again, each fight takes more from me." There truly is a relentlessness to the world beating you down and though a person continues to fight back and get back up again when they get knocked down, it does seem to get harder and harder each time.
Thanks again for reading and commenting. I really appreciate it!
I must say, that was also a favourite of mine on the first read, and one that has stuck with me. The emotion in the imagery of battling against the raging tides of life, alone, with each encounter wearing you down, sapping the strength to go on. It is gut-wretching and beautiful.
Reading it again today, the lines "A desp'rate voice is calling growing fainter with the time /
And though I cannot hear it, I know that voice is mine." Really stand out. The idea of something deep inside you calling out, so tired and faint, you can't hear it anymore. But you know it's there, desperately reaching out, wondering, if you can't hear it anymore, how on earth will anyone else.
As much as I love steemit, I feel the lifespan of poetry here can be too short to reach it's full potential, many are read but never returned to. Then I think back to how I used to re-read the same poems over and over, coming back to them after years away, and often finding a new beauty in lines previously overlooked, surpassed by even more striking lines. Anyway, glad I came back and read this again today, I appreciate it even more :)
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