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NIGHTBIRTH
She knew the country
only by gossamer memory --
the village her recent past.
Ensconced behind his paper
or worshipping the tube
he sent her out
into the darkness
to walk the long hill
the long country hill
beneath pinpoint stars
in a valley the lions
were known to frequent
to check the mailbox.
She was pregnant.
Needed the exercise,
he said.
So she stepped away
from the lights.
She took a flashlight
and later picked up
a strong juniper staff,
walking stick. Cudgel.
It went OK to the box.
Bills, letter from Marietta,
ads from Castle's Grocery,
bulletin from the school.
See her tracks there —
how she made to return?
A scream from the black forest
she raised her flashlight
like a light-saber;
thin line of defense.
Out of the overarching pine
spreading like a sheet,
or a fisherman's cast net,
a white presence taking shape
then sailing on in silent grace
into the night it possessed.
The city girl returned to the country;
a thousand demons slain.
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| Lovely, lovely poem. I just love straightfoward, direct stories told in poems. They seem to make you hold only the essential part of a story, and discard the unecessary details. Or sometimes a poem like this is a very close view of a much bigger event... Cheers for you! |
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Made my hair stand on end a little, been in such situations, first thing I thought of after reading this:
Out of the overarching pine
spreading like a sheet,
or a fisherman's cast net,
a white presence taking shape
then sailing on in silent grace
into the night it possessed.
one word came into my head "owl"
Wendy x |
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oh my gosh! Yes, suspense, but is there a stronger word?
This gave me absolute cold chills. You exhibit a mastery of the build up and your word choices are excellent. You have a sexy vocabulary :)
I enjoyed this very much
NJ |
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Comment by: mafsa - 2007-09-30 18:06
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nice dark tale, remembered Buffy, but she's irrelevant. maybe because of the last two lines.
each stanza is full of suspense, the reader wondering what will happen next. and the finishing lines are haunting and awesome.
A scream from the black forest
she raised her flashlight
like a light-saber;
thin line of defense.
>my favorite
Mary:p |
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