The Last Lights of Being
The Last Lights of Being
On a southern night,
we walked with the main road home.
The mercy breeze blew,
the longer we signed our own
papers that place us when were gone.
We signed in the sand,
and placed our jewels in the devil's right hand.
Leave your love and demand
to see the lord before the flute plays,
into the air.
The marching soldier falls down weary,
into the air.
Where the pit of bliss is the thorn of envy
along the stem of quarrelsome decline.
When morning forced us home
to breathe with the shallow breath of the dying,
the autumn of our love
was the winter dream of freeing ourselves of a mirror hatred;
an afternoon of enemies in love.
With a border and a frame,
you hung on the wall every still of distain.
I walked and you were walking through when we fell,
into the air.
We've always known that the hours wasted
into the air,
were the jewels in the hand of a starving affair.
Leave them on,
the last lights of being
alone when the city is gone,
and the lovers in anguish are tearing the garden down
from the wintertime wall.
The flood will empty the well,
and offer those who rise to those who fell
into the air...
we walked with the main road home.
The mercy breeze blew,
the longer we signed our own
papers that place us when were gone.
We signed in the sand,
and placed our jewels in the devil's right hand.
Leave your love and demand
to see the lord before the flute plays,
into the air.
The marching soldier falls down weary,
into the air.
Where the pit of bliss is the thorn of envy
along the stem of quarrelsome decline.
When morning forced us home
to breathe with the shallow breath of the dying,
the autumn of our love
was the winter dream of freeing ourselves of a mirror hatred;
an afternoon of enemies in love.
With a border and a frame,
you hung on the wall every still of distain.
I walked and you were walking through when we fell,
into the air.
We've always known that the hours wasted
into the air,
were the jewels in the hand of a starving affair.
Leave them on,
the last lights of being
alone when the city is gone,
and the lovers in anguish are tearing the garden down
from the wintertime wall.
The flood will empty the well,
and offer those who rise to those who fell
into the air...
ep
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- Location: Bangor, N.Ireland
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- Posts: 27
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- Location: New Jersey
ep~
i meant to comment on this yesterday but got side-tracked...
For me the shining moments in this great poem are the "in the air" actions.
I love the picture i get; a sort of action implied, a picture and then instead of the cited fall (etc), the subject disintegrates to nought. But the 'ghost' remains. I'm not explaining it well, but these lines really resonate with me for some reason.
My other favorite thing
is the phrase: "mercy breeze".
A great, loaded statement.
Thanks for sharing,
Laurie
i meant to comment on this yesterday but got side-tracked...
For me the shining moments in this great poem are the "in the air" actions.
I love the picture i get; a sort of action implied, a picture and then instead of the cited fall (etc), the subject disintegrates to nought. But the 'ghost' remains. I'm not explaining it well, but these lines really resonate with me for some reason.
My other favorite thing

A great, loaded statement.
Thanks for sharing,
Laurie
ep wrote:
No ep, it makes no sense at all
It's tangental, but it makes me think about a song by the Italian rocker, Zucchero called, "Thin Air." Great song.
Connection to your poem?
The word 'air'.
A melody...Short list
Holiday?
Nope. Just exercising my Lurker muscles. Thanks for noticing!
Regards,
Laurie
Hey Laurie+ Liz- The "Into the air" actions are the chorus of the song, sort of sung like "La, La, La, La..." if that makes any sense?
Laurie, welcome back? Holiday perhaps?
No ep, it makes no sense at all

It's tangental, but it makes me think about a song by the Italian rocker, Zucchero called, "Thin Air." Great song.
Connection to your poem?
The word 'air'.
A melody...Short list

Holiday?
Nope. Just exercising my Lurker muscles. Thanks for noticing!
Regards,
Laurie
Yikes~
the white glaring of that word didn't look right to me...so i did a little dictionary diving myself
(do it all the time).
What a diplomat
for not pointing out i butchered its spelling.
TangentIal, tangential, tangential, tangenti.........my thinking was convoluted, twisted, illogical...where is my Thesaurus??
L
the white glaring of that word didn't look right to me...so i did a little dictionary diving myself

What a diplomat

TangentIal, tangential, tangential, tangenti.........my thinking was convoluted, twisted, illogical...where is my Thesaurus??
L
Laurie- My spelling is horrible. On a message board I am ok but I fold into pieces under pressure (ie- Job Interviews...) I could never correct someone's spelling, for fear that I could give them even the slightest symptom of the complex that has ruined my self-esteem and every relationship I have ever been a part of. A beautiful woman that I was seeing for over 4 months once said to me, in a moment of passion, "Spell dirty to me you naughty spellin' sack of jesus cake..." Of course I could not perform and eventually she left me for a Wiffle Ball and an Eye Patch. I have been eating pancakes and circling my ear lobes with a red marker ever since.
I have been in spelling therapy for the last 19 years and have made no progress. It's sad really...

I have been in spelling therapy for the last 19 years and have made no progress. It's sad really...

ep