Thursday, April 30, 2009

Theme Thursday: WATER

A lot of the Blogger-bloggers who link to Theme Thursday are poets. Therefore, although most of my recent writings consist of prose works, I decided to resurrect a thirty-year-old poem entitled "A Summer's End." Something decidedly different for me, even then... but it fits the "WATER" theme in two ways: The story takes place on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and a summer thunderstorm begins and increases in intensity, mirroring my characters' conversation.

(And in all honesty, I must admit to a few editorial "tweaks.")


* * * * *

A Summer's End
A summer's day, so fine and fair,
Brought summer's eve, so warm.
The moon was shining through her hair.
No hint of coming storm.

The day'd been spent eventfully.
New vistas had been sought.
I showed her what she meant to me
And spoke my inner thoughts.

She told me "I've found peace with you.
You mellow out my life."
I answered "Dear, I've thought things through.
I want you as my wife."

She smiled but firmly shook her head,
Which puzzled me a lot,
Until she softly, gently said,
"Let's not ruin what we've got."

The summer moon its dom'nance took
And siphoned off the day.
She climbed the rocky overlook
To view the ocean spray.

On this high cliff she took my hand.
The sea raged far below.
She begged "Please, darling, understand.
I care for you, you know!

"It's just that marriage is passé,
An out-of-date-ideal."
Light rain began, and all I said
Was "No, it's not. It's real."

"You wonderful romanticist,"
She cooed, to keep things light.
But I could not adjust to this.
I knew that I was right.

The summer rain beat harder now;
The ocean sprayed its foam.
I kept the argument alive,
Refused to take her home...

"It's not how I would live," she said.
I said "I'll ask again..."
"You're asking something I can't give!"
"Don't say you can't. You can."

She searched for words, then found the sea.
"Dear, watch the waves withdraw.
They love to touch the shore, like me,
But freedom is their law.

"They need not stay upon the sand
To smooth it free from scars."
I shrugged those words off. "Take my hand!
What's mine may yet be ours."

The summer storm, a tempest spread,
Almost drowned out her plea.
"You haven't heard a word I've said!
How stubborn can you be?"

The storm's force ruled my actions then,
Heart pounding like the waves.
With sorrow for what might have been,
I knew no hope was saved.

I turned and left her, boldly.
Shocked, she never said a word
As I strode away so coldly.
Rain and surf were all I heard.

But swift remorse came; back I looked,
To straighten out this mess...

But she had jumped.

Her life she took.

She did love me...

I guess.

* * * * *

Mm. Cheerful.

By the way, long-time readers of my blogs will recall my running joke that every time I wonder "Hey, whatever happened to So-and-So? Haven't heard anything about him (or her) lately," the person in question either does something newsworthy shortly thereafter... or dies.

Anybody remember my lame joke about Bea Arthur on April 11th?

Yup. Killed another one.

Thanks for your time.

38 comments:

  1. I must say this is sad.
    The stanza I like the best is "she searched for words, then found the sea. Dear watch the waves......."

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  2. Yeah...she loved you. Hope tis just a poem, a well done one at that. I just had to keep reading to learn the story.

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  3. Such a cheerful thought will make me come back for a second dose - I think... Did anjoy the Ballad - and the Silver Fox photo, of course!

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  4. sad but telling poem...can you please not mention me a post as i hope for many a year to come. sorry, gallows humor. sorry to hear your friend passed away. happy tt!

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  5. First of all, are you Cary Grant?
    Secondly, I really enjoyed this poem - sort of a "To His Coy Mistress" with a dark edge. I liked the classical feel to it with the modern attitudes and the ending appealed to my ironic side.

    I'll be back!

    Kat

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  6. So tragic. I certainly hope you didn't actually experience this. The ending was a shocker!

    And please just keep me out of your casual conversation. I don't fancy the Bea Arthur thing. Not this week.

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  7. That was...I don't have words to describe how much I enjoyed this!! YOu had me from beggining to end lol

    Thank you for sharing! The best Theme Thursday post I've read so far :)

    Take care
    xoxo

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  8. maybe she tripped? lol jk.
    great storytelling.

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  9. Ah I just love it very much!Really nice and what a end!:)
    Pleased to meet you mr Grant and discover your blog.Haven't seen it before,will be back.

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  10. Very nice indeed. TT has brought out the poets in force!

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  11. sounds like something I would have writ in my early twenties when love went wrong...musing about the death of the beloved so I could feel terrible yet go on. I like it! Dramatic.

    So, did she really jump or was that wishful thinking?

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  12. You did throw a curve ball at the end.

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  13. "What happened to the the first two marriages?"
    "My wives divorced me."
    "Why?"
    "I think they said I led too dull a life."

    Considering your photo, you should recognize the quote. Synchronicity on my blog if you want to look.

    http://artsparktheatre.blogspot.com/2009/04/tiny-men-and-scary-women.html

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  14. this had a great flow to it...and loved the ending. Will be back to peruse your site later... happy tt.

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  15. To everyone who's commented so far (now that I've read AND commented on every blasted Theme Thursday post... I think):

    Thanks for all your great comments, and I've noticed that some of you are checking out past posts, and my other blogs. Greatly appreciated!

    As for the Cary Grant pic, I tend to change my profile photo on a regular basis, always using someone with grey or white hair... but this one's getting a lot of comments from the ladies, so I think it'll stay up for a while. I wish I really looked like that.

    Now... Unlike almost everything I've ever written, even stuff this old (30 years!), I have absolutely NO idea what originally inspired this poem. But take heart in knowing that no woman ever really threw herself from a cliff because she thought she'd lost me. As Bogart said in Casablanca, "Nobody ever loved me that much." (Thankfully.)

    And a couple of notes to California Girl specifically:

    1. "sounds like something I would have writ in my early twenties when love went wrong..."

    Interesting. That's how old I was when I wrote it.

    2. "So, did she really jump or was that wishful thinking?"

    She jumped. In fact, I mentioned that I edited a few lines. One of them was "I turned and left her, boldly," which was originally "I thrust her from me boldly." I changed it so no one would think that his slight push was what really sent her over the cliff's edge.

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  16. Love the poem, David! Nice take on the theme. I may do a belated one, upon my return. Gotta go!

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  17. I hope this is not autobiographical. But a great poem. I love couplets!

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  18. I think Silver just may be my favorite fox color. Great poem although I'm sensing a touch of the Poe about you..which is meant in the highest regard.

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  19. Evenig Light Writer:

    "I'm sensing a touch of the Poe about you..which is meant in the highest regard."

    And that's exactly how I took it. I can only think of one or two other authors whom you could have compared me to (in any way) that would have complimented me as much.

    Thank you.

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  20. I'm glad you changed that one line, because at one point I was getting a niggling feeling that you were going to throw her off the cliff, and I was relieved (momentarily) when you walked away. If you had left the line "I thrust her..." I'd have been sure of it.

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  21. Whew! Boy, am I glad I changed that line.

    And I repeat, for one and all... the story had absolutely nothing to do with reality!

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  22. Foxy, I do love the profile picture and thanks for visiting. You're right I love being part of Theme Thursday, even though I don't feel worthy. This is a truly talented group of people. Poetry is something I appreciate from a far and admire those that can put their emotions into metered stanzas.

    You are a gem and looking forward to reading more.

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  23. Really enjoyed this poem, David, and I'm not one for poetry. Kind of a morbid ending, but very well written.

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  24. Yes, the picture did capture my attention. Carey Grant was hot!

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  25. Good grief. Don't ever wonder about my whereabouts will you? Nice narrative poem but really . .couldn't she have just gone for some retail therapy?

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  26. Baino, if I may answer a facetious question seriously -- something I always tease SubTorp about doing with my comments -- I think we've all felt, at least once, that we "can't go on" after some major upset, especially when we're as young as this young lady presumably was. But most of us get over it before doing anything irreversible about it. If this argument had taken place in her apartment, it's doubtful she would have taken sleeping pills, or slashed her wrists, etc. But in this instance, her first thought was, "I've lost him! I'll never get him back!" and unfortunately, the cliff was right there, and her impulsive nature made her take that long, last step.

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  27. Okay Cary: I came back to see what others wrote and I almost NEVER do that especially with TT stuff. I'm still slogging my way through them (slogging, get it? water?)

    Thanks for the response to my queries. It really did sound like something very romantic and lovesick from your youth and, believe me, I was there with you.

    btw, I saw Cary Grant at Dodger Stadium on the press level one day. It was probably the very early eighties. His hair was silver white and he wore the dark framed glasses I always associate with his Faberge days (he was on the board). I happened to be on the press level thanks to KABC and was wandering around looking for my idol, Vin Scully, to see him in action in the broadcast booth. Cary Grant often sat with Scully in the booth and I passed him on the way to the lavatory. I think I just gaped and thought "Oh my God this man is even more gorgeous in person in his seventies than I would have ever guessed."

    sigh.

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  28. Thanks for the very cool Cary Grant story.

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  29. Great Writing Sir!
    Did You Ever Give Her A Copy Of The Poem?

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  30. Thanks, but... there was no "her" to whom I could give a copy of the poem. The two characters were totally fictitious, with no wishful thinking involved.

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  31. Ha! My kind of love poem... but I would have pushed her! Don't do really well with the sappy stuff of poems, as no matter how I try, they always turn out...well, similar to this. :) Would you mind if I went to the usual...fantastic rhythm, brilliant rhyme, and I love a well penned ballad! (Forgive me...even NEW habits die hard!)

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