Grex Poetry Conference

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Grex Poetry Item 230: November / PK00
Entered by brighn on Sun Dec 3 23:24:04 UTC 2000:

November (nearly December)
November 29, 2000

November (nearly December)
Waits quietly
Between the death of then
And the birth of to be
Enshrouded in a frozen now
(Is moves like treacle
through November)

November (nearly December)
Stretches her arms out across the night
Cradles it
Chills it to sleep
(With hushed tones of what cannot be)
Sets it down in a drift of snow
Tucks it in to sleep
(Goodnight, for now)

November (nearly December)
Pounces upon its childhood
And in a filigreed instant
(Startled by stillness)
Sates itself
Stretches out under a burrowed sun
(A borrowed sum)
And dozes

- Paul Kershaw

6 responses total.

#1 of 6 by flem on Tue Dec 5 21:08:55 2000:

I've read this about five times now, after postponing responding to it twice
so that I could think about it more, and I don't think I have anything really
constructive to say.  That's not meant to imply that I don't like the poem
(I assure you I wouldn't have read it five times if something about it didn't
catch me), just that I don't really think I have anything constructive to say.
This poem is really solid, in the sense that it manages to say something
important in such a way that I feel like if it changed at all, that something
might be diminished.  
  The one line that really teases my mind is the bit about "hushed tones of
what cannot be".  It drops just a hint of darkness, regret, perhaps 
bittersweet, into the eerie serenity, and makes it that much more 
interesting. :)

#2 of 6 by arianna on Wed Dec 6 23:53:16 2000:

ditto on that line -- up to that point, the poem, while well formulated, was
lulling along.  that really got my attention.  the final stanza was quite
impressive.  very solid, overall.

#3 of 6 by brighn on Fri Dec 8 03:23:54 2000:

It's about November. Of course it lulls along. ;}

#4 of 6 by flem on Fri Dec 8 16:24:08 2000:

See, that was one of the odd things about it, for me.  I've never thought of
November as being quiet, contemplative, lulling, etc.  To me, it's always been
rainy, cold, and rather miserable and nasty.  :)

#5 of 6 by brighn on Fri Dec 8 17:42:14 2000:

To each their own. =} That's how I would describe October, actually. November
is a quiet time between the snappy moodiness of October and the oppressively
warm glow of the December hols.

#6 of 6 by flem on Sat Dec 9 22:37:35 2000:

Agreed about the December holidays.  November and February have always been
somewhat miserable months for me.  This is almost certainly related to the
fact that while I was in school, winter break covered large chunks of December
and January.  But I do think that November and Feb. do have particularly
depressing weather, as well.  
  But that's just me.  :)

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