"Or What's A Heaven For"

 

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?
   ― Robert Browning, "Men and Women and Other Poems"

 

 

  

Weeks now of haze and a few faint stars,

As though before the beginning or near

The end there is nothing like constellations

To say where we are, how we have come or

Might yet go, their stories and ours not yet

Told or passed beyond any remembering,

Only some first or last light in its becoming

Or leaving and nothing to say which, time

Without gods and myths, prayers or portents.

Only the passage of these few scattered stars

Through these first years of the last of my life.





Poetry by countryfog
Read 1075 times
Written on 2015-10-14 at 16:21

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Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
A very peaceful moment. The idea of a clean slate beginning or a forgotten past giving the same absence of consciousness. I could reflect on anecdotes about memory loss and longevity but I would be guilty of detracting from your fine work. It really makes you think.
2015-10-20



As is customary, the BirdBrains confess they have not read much (any?) of Browning, though we have located this poem online. We weren't sure how much of it we should read, so for now we focus on your lines and we'll return if appropriate.
(*v*)
I like the opening line, the faint stars in the haze. It prepares very well for the musing that follows, the time without. It also emphasises the contrast in the final three lines, vividly drawn and poignant – all that grandeur falling away, though at BBP the remaining stars are beauty in themselves. We applaud gently together :-) :>)
2015-10-15


Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
This is an interesting thought. The chaos of beginnings can't be distinguished from the chaos of ends.
2015-10-14