Poetry Through the Ages for August

In the blocks below, please find your weekly poems written by me. There are two components to each poem: The poem I wrote as a child (I started writing poetry when I was 11) and an analogy of the lines and word use, using my current and adult understanding of poetic devices and how my lines conveyed the message using devices and styles I learned as an adult. If you have any questions or concerns about the poems, please reach out to me!

Week One:

The New Religion—2003. Age 14

You sit and wait for your prophet,

They come while you sleep,

They wager on your life with a pack of cars,

They pray for your life on an empty hand,

And you wake up.

You awake with a scream of loss,

For you know your prophet has lost.

They watch as you scream,

They wait next to your bed,

And takes your soul.

Your prophet is not as powerful as you are.

They take your life,

And dies from your power.

You are the new prophet,

Take your power wisely and die.

Draw my soul with tears,

For that is how I feel,

For when I die,

I wish to be a waterfall,

To go wherever the Earth takes me,

For that is what I feel,

As that is all I know.

Analogy

You sit and wait for your prophet,—
Since the poet isn’t Christian, this ‘prophet’ wouldn’t be a Christian prophet or messiah. In its simplest form, the poet understands ‘prophet’ as a leader with good intentions. Why else would the reader wait for them?

They come while you sleep,—
Sleep is something none of us can avoid. It’s the only thing (apart from Death) that can’t be postponed, and even if the reader postpones sleep, the physical toll on their bodies could be irreparable. If the prophet comes while the poet sleeps, does the prophet mean harm because they work in the darkness, or do they wait for dark to be left unseen by others?

They wager on your life with a pack of cards,—
A pack of cards gives the impression of gambling: Is the prophet gambling with the poet’s life, or are they gambling with the reader’s ability to stop (reading) before more harm can be done?

They pray for your life on an empty hand,—
The “they” here is ambiguous. It could be the prophet or the poet. If the prophet prays with an empty hand (of cards), why do they pray at all? Is the prophet an ill–fated prophet by praying and bargaining on an empty hand, or do they trust their prayer so much that they don’t need anything in their hands? If the “they” is the poet, they might know why the hand is empty and use this to outshine the prophet to get the reader to trust them. If the poet has all the answers, why would the reader need the prophet to enter their dreams?

And you wake up.—
As the reader, this is “you”, so was all of the above a dream? The wager, the praying, and the realization that there aren’t any cards in your favor. The question is: Why did you wake up?

You awake with a scream of loss,—
Waking up screaming is never a good thing, and before you (the reader) realize it, you have experienced a loss because you were wrenched out of your sleep, and you need to be kept alive.
For you know your prophet has lost.
How do you know your prophet has lost? Did you see it in your dream? Did they tell you?

They watch as you scream,—
Watching someone scream, knowing that they are the reason for the scream, is a different type of diabolical. As a prophet, shouldn’t they have a means to end your screaming and comfort you? Is this a prophet who favors your best interests, or theirs?

They wait next to your bed,—
Waiting close by for something to happen could be understood as two things: Waiting to hear news (good or bad), or waiting for a decision to be made that affects them. If the prophet waits next to your bed tonight, what do you think they will be after?

And takes your soul.—
A ‘soul’ in this case, can be a soul in the more traditional sense of something eternal that lives on after (and before, depending on your worldview) your Death, or it can be a gift that the prophet gave you so you can prove yourself to them once they know what weighs on your soul. What makes you happy, sad, angry, or apathetic? These are all questions the prophet of this poem wants to know.

Your prophet is not as powerful as you are.—
This is the first instance of “your prophet” instead of “the prophet”. What has changed? Is it the fact that the prophet has your soul and the two of you are in a binding contract?

They take your life,—
This is confusing because in the previous stanza, it was stated that the prophet took your soul. How could they take your soul while you are still alive? Is this part of the contract or is this the price for allowing your prophet to watch you while you are most vulnerable (sleeping)?

And dies from your power.—
In general, it’s believed that prophets don’t have spiritual Deaths, only physical Deaths. If your prophet is as powerful as they seemed in the beginning, and when they took your life, how could they die? Is Death a bad thing in this context?

You are the new prophet,—
As the reader, you becoming the prophet gives you power over the poem since much of the poem was controlled by the prophet and poet through dreams and knowing how and why your prophet lost, but becoming the new prophet isn’t the same as becoming the new poet, even though those two titles share dominion over these words. Who told you that you are the new prophet? The original one is dead. Was it the poem itself?

Take your power wisely and die.—
Taking power from a prophet, historically, is seen as the “end game” option for humanity. A prophet’s power is within themselves; they can’t give it away since it’s a part of who they are.

Their own wager on life since they know someone like you will eventually kill them and take their power. It’s the natural order of things. But, since you are Dead, where will this power go? Why does the poet use “wisely” when discussing power? Is the power wise or were you wise to take it from the prophet in the first place?

Draw my soul with tears,—
This is a stark contrast to the earlier stanzas, and you, as the reader, could be left wondering who wrote these lines: the poet, the prophet, or you as the new prophet, describing your introduction to this world.

For that is how I feel,—
The use of “I” here could be any of the above characters, including the poem itself. Can poems feel if the poet writes them in the lines or can poems only feel if the characters want them to? If the poet or prophet dies, does the poem have feelings because it’s assumed that when someone dies, there should be a reaction? The use of “for I” is common in Old English, where “for” was used instead of “because” and in this context, “for” is used as a way to explain the reasoning and choices of the poet and prophet.

For when I die,—
As the poem, Death could mean the end of all the characters in the poem, and it could mean the Death of the ideas from the poem. If the poem dies, do you think the characters and ideas should live on in other means?

I wish to be a waterfall,—
Is it possible for items to have dreams and wishes? Where do they get the context from? How does this poem know what a waterfall is? Did any of the characters tell them?

To go wherever the Earth takes me,—
Earth is seen as a force of nature here, much like Death, and if the poem allows the waterfall to take them wherever the Earth goes, how far will these characters and ideas spread?

For that is what I feel,—
As a poem or a prophet, what gives them feeling? It can’t be emotions or fears since poems don’t have any (that I know of), and as for the prophet, fears and emotions could make them more closely related to their subjects, which removes their prophetic persona. If a poem can feel, is it still a poem?

As that is all I know.—
The question is: What is all who knows? If the “I” is the reader who has drawn their soul with tears because they understand the meaning of their prophet and their poet, which is to have the wisdom to die, does the reader know anything else? How will they know anything else if what they are told is all in the lines of this poem? If the “I” is the prophet, are they really a prophet? Shouldn’t prophets know more than Death and feelings, or are these prophets more focused? The final option is that the “I” is the poem itself. If this is all the poem knows, it should cease to exist as a poem, since poems are inanimate and can’t feel anything. Either way, the poem ends here so did the poem end because the poet was finished, or did the poem end because it became something that could feel?

What do you think? Do you agree with my understanding and symbolism? I’d love to know!

Please use this [ link ] to the optional forum to start a discussion about the poem. Alternatively, you can use any of the email links from the contact [ page ].

There are spaces without written content on either side of the page. This is by design and to avoid me waffling instead of adding thought–out pieces of writing.

These spaces can also be used to rest your eyes between blocks of text and give you, the reader, time to process and analyze what has been said on the page so far.

Not everything needs to be jam–packed with writing and an opportunity to respond. Sometimes we need the quiet moments and empty spaces to reflect and prepare ourselves for what comes next.

This is a website for reflection and asking questions! What type of writer would I be if I made readers like you tired on purpose, just so you can finish sooner and miss the opportunity to think about what you have read?

Week Two:

Waves—2003. Age 14

Posses me,

Consume me,

Try me,

Please?

Possess me with dark,

Consume me with the water,

Try me with your will,

Please.

Thank me.

Take me,

Drive me.

Please?

Thank me for my wisdom,

Take me to a dark shadow,

Drive me away, please?

Analogy

Possess me,—
This poem was written shortly after the last one with the puddles. A lot of my poems have a similar theme because they were written close together. For example, the theme of ‘possession’ (not demonic possession) and consuming with water was discussed in my last poem, just for different reasons. This type of possession (the kind that doesn’t have a name or intention) can mean a few things, including the possession of the self.

Consume me,—
The world's consumption is usually associated with illness or an excess of anything viable that can be consumed, like food, water, or emotions. In this context, ‘consume me’ could mean the consumption of the self (from the previous line) or it could be a normal form of consumption where the ‘me’ is the thing being consumed while the consumer acknowledges that the ‘me’, whether or not this is the poet themselves, understands what ‘consume me’ is and merely obliges. On the other hand, consumption and consummation have very similar word starts, and if the context is unknown—at this stage, I think this is the case—this could also have sexual meaning, particularly if the ‘possess me’ from before is taken in the literal sense. This doesn’t mean consummation or the consumption of something new has to be possessive (inherently negative). This consummation could be seen as many different things, and the definition you choose to follow could depend on your understanding of the rest of the poem.

Try me,—
As a directive, the use of “try me” could be seen as a test: Try me to see how long it will take the poet to break; try the poet to see how many more times they can be possessed or consumed; or is the poet themselves testing their own resolve and what resolve they have against the actions that were placed on them before the poet was written? An example could be the reason the poet chose the words “possess” and “consume” instead of gentler terms that would have helped the reader ease into the poem without trying anything or answering any questions the poem may have later.

Please?—
The combination of the word “please” with the terminal punctuation mark as a question mark is a specific choice of words/punctuation that the poet used to draw attention to the word itself. Usually, the word “please” is self-explanatory where the writer or orator asks their readers or audience a question or poses a problem and asks for feedback on how to resolve this problem. In this context, the “please” could be seen as a begging tactic for the reader to do all the things before the word please (possess, try, consume). The question is, who will the reader do this to, and why did the poet ask in the first place? As a poet, the poem is in their hands, so they could do whatever is asked of them because they have the power of the pen. Why does the “please” sound so desperate in this case? Is it a desperate plea or just a question asked after other emotionally–charged words used to elicit a response?

Possess me with dark,—
This is the first time the poet indicates what type of possession the reader or the poet themselves is possessed with. Since the dark isn’t a physical object or a widely known force compared to ‘light’, which is often used in conversation to fill people up with light and hope, etc., possessing someone with ‘the dark’ could have unintended consequences. It’s believed that light is a good thing, and when people are filled with light, they experience a sense of euphoria, but what happens when the opposite is true? Do people possessed and filled with the dark experience turmoil because of the association with negativity, or is this another way to experience possession (of the self), to ignore what was accepted and expected, only to follow a different path? Possessions are usually seen as a bad thing. Why would the poet want this possession? Do they know something the reader doesn’t?

Consume me with water,—
Following the indications of what the reader or poet is possessed by, the specifics of water in this line play an important role in the outcome and intention of this poem. Unless the poet or reader is a fish/ocean mammal, the consumption of water for either party will result in their Death, regardless of how they were possessed and for what purpose. The “me” in this line is probably the same “me” from lines 1–3, but does this mean the poet or the reader wants to be consumed regardless of the consequences? If “me” is consumed with water, will they automatically be possessed by the darkness (if the metaphor for this darkness is Death) and by default obey the poet, or does the poet have a trick up their sleeve to help the reader breathe underwater since this is their world?

Try me with your will,—
If this “try me” was a test, how would this come into play? Whose will is at stake here, the poet or the reader? All our ‘wills’ are different and give us a unique experience based on what we hold dear. For example, if it was the poet’s will to drown the reader with the above line, their will may not be as harmless as expected. Most people don’t think the worst of others right away; they may need some time for trust to be lost before it’s assumed that the poet wants to kill the reader without any provocation. If the reader is trustworthy, they could explain to the poet that their will is justified and benevolent. If the poet doesn’t have anything to go on regarding this trust, their work won’t be trustworthy and the reader will be left in the dark about who to trust. Whose will is more trustworthy, the will of a person who says they are going to do something and then do it—even if their actions aren't safe, or a person whose actions are safe but whose will and actions change all the time, making them an unreliable narrator?

Please.—
The omission of the question mark in this line could mean two things: Questions aren’t welcome for this stage of the poem, either because these have been answered and it was up to the reader to find these answers by themselves, or because the poet has the answers and outside questions aren’t welcome. When questions aren’t welcome, it’s usually because the answers are unpleasant and there is a mentality of: ‘Don’t ask questions if you don’t want to know the answers’, or ‘The questions that have been asked have exceeded their stay and understanding of those around them’. Without question, what happens to the poet or reader will be swept under the rug. This helps the poem harm or hinder any progress the poet has made so far in their journey of possession and consummation, regardless of the nature of consummation. This omission of the question mark can also be seen as an instruction for the upcoming lines. If the reader is instructed instead of questioned, their confidence could put them in a position of power because they seem trusted without needing to prove themselves.

Thank me.—
Who is the poet or reader thanking? If this is the same “me” from earlier, is the poet or reader thanking themselves, or are they stating that in thinking “me”, what was done to them earlier in the poem was okay? Why was this okay? Because they said “thank me”? It doesn’t say “thank you”, which is usually how giving thanks is perceived. Is this “me” the same as earlier or has it grown and changed because of the actions and reactions of the poem, for example, trust? Is this rendition of “me” now trustworthy because of trial and error that the poem put it through? If the poem had the ability to kill the reader earlier, how can it expect a thank you? Who would be alive to receive the thanks in this case? If the “thank me” could be used as a “thank you” instead, the “you” is most likely the reader, but it’s not common for poems to thank their readers.

Take me.—
In a way, this “take me” is a play on words with the “thank me". It might not be that obvious because the words are very different and they are also different types of words (thank as a verb or interjection depending on the context and take as a noun or verb, depending on the context), but because the “me” can be used interchangeably between them, we can use the common letters of ‘thank’ and ‘take’ to create meaning. In this context, thank and take can be used simultaneously because of these common letters (T/A/K, plus M/E), and only a few different ones (H/N plus M/E) if the poet chooses to scramble the letters to give meaning. As a play on words, “thank” and “take” can be used simultaneously because of the context: The poet or reader is thanking the other for taking the time to read the poem and the message.

Drive me.—
Since there isn’t evidence of power in this poem, we can assume that this “drive” is a metaphorical sense, with an option for a directional sense to move away from the harm the poet tried to inflict on the reader. As the reader is driven from the potential harm of the poet, are they driven towards a safer piece of literature, or are they being driven closer to where they can experience the pleading from the beginning of the poem without the need to take any action against themselves and the poet? For example, “take me” could also be used as “take me away from here”, which means the driving part is a metaphor and an action, just not an action completed with power.

Please?—
This use of “please” and the questioning nature is confusing because it doesn’t fit with the bold statements in the previous lines that were statements by themselves without leading into anything else (compared to the first possess, consume, try from the first few lines that were lead–on sentences). Naturally, this is intentional because it draws you, the reader, into a question—rather a request—for the remaining lines.

Thank me for my wisdom,—
Again, this “thank me” is ambiguous because it’s still unknown at this time who the poet is thanking, and at the same time, a new component has been identified: Wisdom. Where does this Wisdom come from? Does it come from anywhere, or is it something the poem just has because it was written into the text? And who should the poet or the reader thank for the Wisdom? It isn’t common to thank people for sharing their Wisdom, it’s just assumed that wise people share their Wisdom with those less fortunate. Why should the poet or the reader thank anyone for the wisdom they gained by reading this poem? The poet might feel it necessary to thank the poem itself for sharing its Wisdom on possession and consumption.

Take me to a dark shadow,—
The imagery of the dark comes up again, but this time, the dark has the form of a shadow. If you remember my poem from two weeks ago “Rivers of Blood”, shadows are an important part of a poetic device in my poetry. These can be used to keep people away from what harms them (water in this case, not blood like the last poem), and shadows are naturally dark, or without light, which could mean the poet is choosing not to reveal something about the poem, or the poem is hiding something from the poet and reader.

Drive me away, please?—
The combination of “drive” and the questioning nature of this line as the final line creates a scenario where the poet and reader are asked (by one another) to drive/move away from this area. This could be a physical area where the water and other environmental features try to consume the reader and poet, or it could be a metaphorical location where the distance between the location, poet, and reader doesn’t matter if the questioning nature persists. Driving away from what you know could be a request, or it could be done against your will. In this case, why is the word “please” present again? Who are you/the poet pleading to?

What do you think? Do you agree with my understanding and symbolism? I’d love to know!

Please use this [ link ] to the optional forum to start a discussion about the poem. Alternatively, you can use any of the email links from the contact [ page ].

Week Three:

Eyes—2004. Age 15

Eyes,

They watch,

They stare,

They torment.

They look,

The scream,

They cry,

Fear.

Eyes,

They watch the sunset,

As they stare at the golden rays,

They torment the ocean.

As they look pleadingly,

They scream with no sound,

And they cry with agony,

And in fear.

Analogy

Eyes,—

I know this sounds odd, but eyes in this context doesn’t mean ‘eyes’ as in those things in sockets on your face. These are also related to anything that helps you see more of the world around you behind a veil of darkness (the eyelids).

They watch,—

In a similar way to how I described ‘they’ in my last poem, ‘they’ could mean anything or anyone who is involved with the poem or the story. This could mean the poet, the reader, the poem itself, or, in this case, anyone who has the eyes to see what is going on.

They stare,—

Since there are multiple instances of ‘they’ in this stanza and the ‘they’ could mean a number of different things, we can assume that each ‘they’ has a different meaning. For the sake of this poem, I think the meaning of ‘they’ can be listed in the same order as above (poet, reader, poem, and a person with eyes, either physical eyes or a way to see their surroundings). In this case, this ‘they’ will be the poet. What is the poet staring at? The poem or something else that would make them stare at something for inspiration for this or future poems.

They torment.—

If we follow my above reasoning, this ‘they’ will be you, the reader. As a reader, there isn’t much you can do regarding torment to the poem or poet because, as the reader, your influence on the text is limited. At the same time, your influence on how this poem is perceived and understood can be filled with torment depending on what the eyes (your eyes) see.

They look,—

The ‘they’ in this line will be the poem itself. In this case, the poem has the ability to look at who is reading the poem (itself), and into the eyes of the reader themselves. As a poem, is this an inanimate object as in the paper or screen the poem is written on, or is it alive since the poet was alive when they wrote it? If the poem itself was able to see anything outside the lines and slashes on the page, what do you think it would notice/look at first?

The scream,—

Can eyes scream? If we follow the same logic as earlier, the fourth ‘they’ will be anyone who can see, or the eyes themselves, since they can see by default. Most human beings with eyes can cry, but it’s not the eyes themselves that cry, it’s the human being who cries by releasing emotion and their eyes release tears from tear ducts, but this doesn’t mean the eyes are crying. If the human being with eyes can scream, will their eyes be as important in the reaction as they were to produce tears? Sometimes when we close our eyes really tightly, we can make our eyes water, but this isn’t the same as crying. If eyes could scream, would the person shut their eyes tightly out of frustration, resulting in them watering? In this case, will their eyes scream in retaliation because eyes should be open to see the world around them?

They cry,—

As the fifth writing of ‘they’, this could be any of the above definitions of ‘they’ or none of them at all. As the reader, you have the option to state what the poet might mean as ‘they’ if the poet hasn’t stated a definition you agree with (the poet, reader, poem, or person with eyes). If you, as the reader, put your own definition of ‘they’ into the poem, why would ‘they’ cry? Who is ‘they’?

Fear.—

As the last line of this stanza, a single word can be powerful because it sets the tone for the next stanza, and it also helps this stanza realize its function: To make the reader think about what could be ‘fear’ for ‘them’ if ‘they’ can be so many concepts.

Eyes,—

As the first word for this stanza, and the same word that starts the first one, this could mean that eyes are more important than ‘they’ and all the other definitions of what ‘they’ could be, or, if used in conjunction with the lines that come after this, these eyes can be see as a way to watch the end (of the poem).

They watch the sunset,—

This line, and those below, follow the same idea as the lines in the above stanza that were cut off, but given the context of the following lines, the first understandings of the word ‘they’ could seem spot on, or something else entirely, something else that feels separate from the first writings of these words.

As they stare at the golden rays,—

If the poet (the first meaning of ‘they’ from the first stanza) stares into the sunset, they won’t see golden rays. Golden rays are seen at sunrise, while red and orange rays are associated with the sunset, from a metaphorical and physical sense. If this is the case, what type of sunset is the poet staring into?

They torment the ocean.—

How could the reader (from the definition above) torment the ocean? It’s usually the other way around, unless this ocean isn’t the ocean we know of, just like the sunset from above might not be a sunset we know of. If you can torment the ocean as the reader, will the ocean still be as scary and complicated as it seems? In this case, the tormenting could be a metaphor for fear or regret. Both of these words are usually associated with turmoil and loss, which the ocean (wherever this ocean is) could calm within the reader if the reader succumbs to the weight of the ocean, the ocean that they tormented. Is that why the ocean consumed the reader?

As they look pleadingly,—

As a poem, this poem can only look on in horror or amazement at the outcome of the reader’s torment of the ocean and the subsequent succumbing of the reader to the ocean. If this poem were written on a piece of paper, it could look pleadingly into the ocean to consume it too: Without the reader who reads the poem, they might not torment the ocean, because the poem wouldn’t tell them to. Do you think the poem is willing to sacrifice itself for the sake of its reader? It makes sense. Without any readers, who would read the poem?

They scream with no sound,—

If the reader’s or poet’s eyes could scream, would anyone see it? Would they see it? How would they see it if it’s happening to them directly? Screaming with no sound isn’t easy to do unless the screamer is deliberately trying to avoid making a sound, possibly because they are in danger. Who or what will the poet or reader be in danger from? The poem itself that told them to torment the ocean, and they now have to live with the consequences, or the ocean because of its suffocating nature?

And they cry with agony,—

Like before, this ‘they’ could be all of the above, none of the above, or something else entirely that you as the reader came up with. If this is the case, will any of the above have reason enough to cry—remember what was written earlier about how the tear ducts of the eyes control what they eyes do—or will your definition of ‘they’ be emotional enough to make whoever cry? The words ‘in agony’ can be misleading: If you spend a lot of time crying, you might experience some discomfort that could be construed as agony, given the circumstances, or ‘in agony’ might be the way that the crying commences. If someone is in agony, they could cry as a reaction to the —emotional or physical—pain.

And in fear.—

What is ‘in fear’? Watching the sunset; tormenting the ocean; looking pleadingly; screaming with no sound; or crying with agony? Who is it that experiences this fear? Is it the poet or the reader, knowing they have reached the end of the poem where the story runs out, and they have to experience all of the above alone, again?

What do you think? Do you agree with my understanding and symbolism? I’d love to know!

Please use this [ link ] to the optional forum to start a discussion about the poem. Alternatively, you can use any of the email links from the contact [ page ].

There are spaces without written content on either side of the page. This is by design and to avoid me waffling instead of adding thought–out pieces of writing.

These spaces can also be used to rest your eyes between blocks of text and give you, the reader, time to process and analyze what has been said on the page so far.

Not everything needs to be jam–packed with writing and an opportunity to respond. Sometimes we need the quiet moments and empty spaces to reflect and prepare ourselves for what comes next.

Week Four:

The Shadow—2004. Age 15

It comes,

It feeds,

It draws,

It.

It comes swiftly,

It feeds mercilessly,

It draws without warning,

It.

It speaks,

It screams,

It loves,

It.

It speaks with power,

It screams with agony,

It loves fiercely,

It.

Analogy

It comes,—
This has a similar style to my poem called Rivers of Blood—remember what I said about a lot of my poetry pieces and a shadow?—and it’s unclear, even to me, whether or not the “it” is a shadow or something else. These short lines help set the scene for someone to read the poem in short bursts instead of long lines that could resemble prose. I also think it helps you, as the reader, to understand the importance of a poem that doesn’t waffle. Most times, the same thing can be said with shorter sentences and specific punctuation instead of paragraphs and paragraphs of a similar concept (although this might be necessary sometimes).

It feeds,—
What will it feed on? You or the words around it? Does this mean the shadow, or whatever the poet is speaking about, is human, an animal, or at least something with a mouth? If this entity is human or an animal, why would it feed on the reader? Is this a requirement of anything with a mouth: To feed? There isn’t much information about what ‘it’ is at this time, so any and all assumptions of what it is are both valid and could be equally incorrect at the same time. You, as the reader, will have to read on to find out what ‘it’ is.

It draws,—
There are many definitions for the word ‘draw’, some for the word itself and some for different tenses of the word like ‘drew/drawer/drawn/etc.’ The most clear definition for me would be the artistic rendition of drawing a picture, but even this can be metaphorical. You can draw a picture of an apple, but you can also draw a picture of what an apple should look like based on its qualities and share these qualities with the artist. Something can also draw closer to the poet or reader, and this something could harm or help whomever they drew closer to. Water and other liquids can also draw near the reader or a surface like the beach where waves draw closer to the beach because of tides, or water/other liquids can be drawn closer to you if their container was bumped and the contents are now spilling out.

It.—
What is ‘It’? This is the first time we can see ‘It’ on its own; does this mean ‘It’ is its own thing, as in the shadow (from the title) and is now present in the poem and you, as the reader, can see it for what it is: A force that is often undetected and ignored. The question is: Can something that needs to be fed be ignored that easily?

It comes swiftly,—
In a similar style to my previous poems, the second stanza gives more information about the choice of words used in the first stanza, where context wasn’t given, and you, as the reader, were encouraged to fill in the blanks yourself. As a shadow, it can only move as fast as the people controlling their bodies. In this case, if the controlling body (of the shadow) moves swiftly, so does the shadow, but if the controlling body doesn’t move at all, can the shadow still move? It could find something else that moves like a plant in the wind or a pet/animal, which will make it move swiftly. The problem with shadows is this: Without light they don’t exist so if you, as the reader, or a pet/animal moves into a dark area, will the shadow die or just retreat until it can shine again?

It feeds mercilessly,—
What would the shadow feed on? More importantly, is the shadow the thing that feeds from the beginning of the poem? That is quite a scary thought: A shadow with teeth. You'd better hope it's your own shadow—with the assumption that your shadow won’t want to hurt you—because something that follows you around, whether either of you wants this or not, should probably be something benign, or at least placid enough to not want to sink their teeth into you. If the shadow feeds mercilessly, do you think it will stop when it realizes there is nothing left to feed on, or will it stop when it is satisfied, regardless of how the controlling body feels? As the controlling body, would you realize that you are being fed upon or will it feel like any other day because your shadow has been a part of you for so long?

It draws without warning,—
In this context, the ‘draw’ could be something I didn’t mention earlier: The shadow could draw blood as part of how it feeds. Most parasites and onsets draw blood without warning: Blood flukes; hookworms; lice; and mosquitoes don’t care about the flesh of the controlling body, they feed when they need to. Does this mean the poet correlates shadows with parasites? Maybe. If the shadow is sentient and relies on their controlling body for movement, while waiting for the right time to strike (feed), the shadow acts like a parasite and should be treated as one. How can we treat and react against something that only exists because of us, and only exists under certain conditions (light)? If we remove these conditions, can we kill the shadow or parasite that harms us? At the same time, if we don’t know the shadow’s intentions, how will we know to defend ourselves against what may come? The truth is that we can’t, and that is the moral of the story. Something can be drawn from you without you realizing what happened because the thing that drew/took something from you has always been there, in the background.

It.—
‘It’ could be the shadow in this case, or it could be what was drawn from the reader because of the poet. If this ‘it’ is still the shadow, the use of the shadow in the final line of the stanza could point to its importance to the poem and reader as a whole, or it could point to the finality of the shadow as a parasite itself: Once a parasite feeds on a controlling body, that controlling body loses control of their abilities to make a shadow in the first place. The shadow will die with the controlling body if they die from the parasite, or the shadow could be in their own nightmare if the controlling body gets sick but doesn’t die. Shadows need controlling bodies to get up and move for the shadow to live; if the controlling body doesn’t cast a shadow on their bed, the shadow dies, but not really. They have no choice but to wait until their controlled body dies. Could this be why the shadow behaves like a parasite sometimes? The sooner the controlled body is overrun by parasites, the sooner the shadow can experience a proper Death instead of a partial Death in the sweaty sheets of their controlled body.

It speaks,—
Shadows might be able to move, but they can’t speak because they don’t have the necessary parts. We can safely assume that the ‘it’ in this context is the controlling body. If the shadow was a parasite to this body, and from the line above, we can assume that the controlling body is ill (infected by parasites) and in a bed somewhere, waiting to die, and waiting for their shadow to die with them. When riddled with parasites, people often become delirious and confused, particularly if the parasites can’t be removed from their body (how could they, if the shadow is the cause of the parasite or the parasite itself?). In delirium, will the controlling body speak about anything of importance, or will they only speak about important things because they know the end is near? Have you, as the reader, heard any Deathbed confessions? Did you, as the reader, understand anything that was said? If that person’s shadow could talk, would it tell the same stories?

It screams,—
As with the line above, shadows can’t scream, so this would be the controlling body that screamed or is currently screaming. This ties into the Deathbed analogy of the person being riddled with parasites and they are coming to terms with the inevitable. This person might scream because they are in pain; they don’t want to die, or they could scream because there isn’t anything else to do at the end of life, except wait to die. This could also be a metaphorical scream if the controlling body can’t scream out loud and they are resigned to their fate of an empty room most days to think about what they have done, and what they missed out on because they were controlled by their shadow: The thing that has been with them from day one to day 100, and will now die with them. But will their shadow really die when they do? Shadows can dance around a room as long as there is a light source, and in a coffin, there is only darkness. Will their shadow leave them willingly to attach themselves to the new object or person they can infect with their parasites?

It loves,—
This could be either–or: The controlling body or the shadow. It’s only natural that the controlled body loves those around them on their Deathbed, why else would their loved ones be there? The controlling body could also love their shadow because the shadow is the only one who has been with the controlling body from the start. Companionship is a necessity for human beings and animals, it’s only natural that the controlling body loves their shadow, even if it kills them. On the other side, can a shadow love its controlling body? While shadows can’t speak or scream because they don’t have the anatomy for it, they have a shape, and someone who is always there in the same way the shadow is always present for the controlling body. Falling in love with someone with whom you spend a lot of time with isn’t a new concept, but it raises the question: Can the shadow, without any feelings or emotions other than what their controlling body gave them, love something other than themselves?

It.—
Based on the above lines, this ‘it’ is most likely the shadow. In this case, ‘it’ has experienced all of the above in a similar way to how their controlling body experienced them, with the exception of speaking and screaming. As the shadow, ‘it’ can’t control what their controlling body does and they shadow must accept it’s fate of a short partial Death with the shadow’s ‘it’ (the controlling body) decided whether or not to die right away or wallow in their parasites and Death–bed, oblivious to their own shadow as part of their dying process.

It speaks with power,—
This isn’t something the controlling body can do if they are on their Deathbed because of their shadow or parasites brought by their shadow, but speaking can be done via other means. Speaking with power in this context could also be a portion of the full sentence: Speaks with power of attorney, which is appropriate if the controlling body is unable to do anything for themselves due to the parasites in their system, regardless of how the parasites got there. If the controlling body is able to speak with power towards the end, their words and not their tone could be the powerful spoken word. If this is the last time the controlling body speaks at all, their words will be powerful regardless of how they said it.

It screams with agony,—
At the end of life, most people don’t have the energy—and sometimes the will—to scream or make loud sounds at all. In this case, if the controlling body is truly on their Deathbed–bed, it could be their body that screams with agony and not their mouths. Their shadow could feel this because the controlling body could be writhing in agony while they scream, and this could affect how their shadows fall on the bed and floor beneath them. Screaming with agony, as a result, could affect their shadow, while speaking and screaming from the previous stanza could not.

It loves fiercely,—
A fierce love is what is expected when someone is dying, and the fiercer the love, the greater the shadow is cast over the seeing person because their loved ones could bend over and hug them, where the shadows will fall on the controlling body, their loved ones could cast a shadow with their hands if they hold hands over the bed, where the shadow can reach the bed and the floor, and that fierce love could cast a metaphorical shadow on the controlling body by the intensity of how each other feels about one another: A person’s love could cast a greater shadow than the controlling body because of loyalty and commitment, something that might not be shared as intently/fiercely by the controlling body/dying person.

It.—
As the final line of the poem, this ‘it’ could be anything and anyone spoken of above, but I like to think of this ‘it’ as the combined family members and loved ones who visited the controlling body (and by default, their shadow). This ‘it’ is important because their combined shadows can make the original one (that of the controlling body) larger, and if it was the shadow that became the parasite, or was the parasite from the beginning and just took action now, the larger the shadows, the more possibilities for the parasites to infect others when they least expect it.

What do you think? Do you agree with my understanding and symbolism? I’d love to know!

Please use this [ link ] to the optional forum to start a discussion about the poem. Alternatively, you can use any of the email links from the contact [ page ].

Thank you for your interest in Write Remedy: Vial Blossoms where curiosity is key, and everything else falls into place.