Palin

[dedalus]

Lovely is the love that runs

over shallow, gurgling fast-flowing streams,

and forever I see you in my dreams

from this lonely prison cell.

This prison is warm and comfortable

with a fire and many books on shelves.

Like others, I think upon many things,

but mostly we think upon ourselves.

I am so sorry

I chose freedom in a then open way

and I made a mistake, and now I take

this heavy burden upon me.

Later, when your home was afire

from men in white robes and burning torches,

I thought of you, and only you,

my wondrous chocolate girl.

I would die for a dog,

what I mean is God,

since I get things backward:

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!

Palindromic applications,

other effusive declarations,

only add to the stream

of pathetic aesthetic esteem.

I wish you to remember

from January to December

that there was a boy

who loved only you.

[Benjamin]

I read the opening verses as metaphor for exile: the ensuing verses as wistful contemplation of past decisions. A skilful use of the palindrome perhaps as analogy of how lives, (pre-ordained.. who knows,) touch others in ways over which there is little control. "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!" The first and last verses bracket the piece in a most human way. Most eloquently done. G.

[dedalus]

A very perceptive review! As poets of a kind, we struggle with these things: sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

[dr_con]

Lovely and humane indeed. The palatable sense of regret, the self imposed imprisonment, the sheer humanness are all equisite. Beautifully done.

 

Juris