The Face

[goldenlangur]

Steadier than this drip

off wooden shingles

onto gravel indented

into leaden soil

the face at the window

never wavers.

 

The ridge and fields recede

into horizon-less indigo

The face at the window grows.

Pale, parted lips,

Lotus petal face

eyes, heavy-lidded and aglow.

 

What does it glean

That cannot be seen?

What does it mouth

That cannot be caught?

Still it fills the night,

casts no shadow

as the moon moves

to a full.

 

 

goldenlangur

[tonyv]

The face is constant. It stares, in a catatonic trance, even as the ridge and fields recede/into horizon-less indigo. In my mind I associate the drip from the wooden shingles with a morphine drip; the one who is in distress might not even be aware of its existence, but nevertheless s/he lives within it.

 

The last verse is rife with musicality; rhyme (glean/seen) and near rhyme (mouth/caught/night) heighten the anticipation. The reader desperately wants to know what happens next. The poetic devices work the poem toward its expected culmination, but in the end, the reader doesn't know the answers to the questions posed. One thing is for certain: the shadowless face remains, as the moon moves/to a full.

 

Tony

[Aleksandra]

GL as always your poetry is very clever and very thoughtful

I love this one too,

 

This expression:

the face at the window

never wavers.

 

sounds very poetical and moving. I loved.

 

Then the last part of this poem, questions - on the right place, and then this:

Still it fills the night,

casts no shadow

as the moon moves to

to a full.

 

casts no shadows, as the moon moves to a full... GL that is wonderful expression. Perfect done my friend

 

Thank you for sharing

 

Aleksandra

[goldenlangur]

Hi Tony,

 

I'm always delighted when a reader interprets an image in a way unintended:

 

tonyv wrote:

In my mind I associate the drip from the wooden shingles with a morphine drip; the one who is in distress might not even be aware of its existence, but nevertheless s/he lives within it.

 

Tony

 

I love where you've gone with the drip from the wooden shingles - " a morphine drip" and also the trance-like effect you saw in the unwavering face.

 

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the "musicality" in the last verse and yes, Tony, there are times when there are no answers to questions one might ask.

 

 

Thank you so much.

 

goldenlangur

[goldenlangur]

Hi Aleksandra,

 

This is a most generous compliment:

 

^{aleksandra wrote:}

 

as always your poetry is very clever and very thoughtful

I love this one too,

 

 

I'm very pleased that you particularly enjoyed the sound and images of the lines you've highlighted.

 

 

I appreciate your encouraging words very much,

 

 

goldenlangur

[Larsen M. Callirhoe]

hi goldenlangur,

 

this piece is very poetical. the ending is beautiful. i like tony' analogy of your poem. i had a hard time understanding this. is this suppose to be a face that is faceless staring out the window unwavering. that is what i gathered from reading this one. maybe im not looking at this deeply enough. i took what you wrote at face value. nicely done but im not comprehending the beginning. tony's analogy helped me understand your poem better but i must of woke up on the wrong side of the bed today...

 

i just am not getting the beginning and usually im good at analising poems.

 

take care my friend

 

vic.

 

ps. maybe you could shed some light for me but you said some answers to questions go undone!

[goldenlangur]

Hi Victor,

 

Your thoughtful response made me think hard as to how the face can be explained and the nearest to this is a link here, which takes you to an image of the Buddha's face.

 

The piece was inspired by recollections of statues in temples, in thangkha (scroll paintings) etc but there was a slight difference in the dream I had.

 

I hope this answers your question in however small a way.

 

For reasons of copyright I cannot copy and paste the image here.

 

 

what-buddha-said.net/Pics/Buddha'sface.jpg

 

 

goldenlangur