the farther shore

your poetry is simply magnificent, you are very gifted

Carol, hi.... i am not a good judge of my own poetry. it's too close, so i rely on you and others here to tell me when it is good and when i fall flat on my face (too often); it's really amazing to hear (truly) that it touches you and reaches the intended audience. That is the best a poet can hope to achieve (to be understood and to affect people) and that means the world.... a thousand thank yous : )

marianne - hi - yes, "lost hope" as you said. That is what this poem is about but i think it's about resignation and acceptance of that lost hope. That finally realizing that there will be "no more" and that there will also be no "closure" (i hate that word but it is applicable"), so the poet simply writes what she feels.....She has given up. She has no answers and none will be forthcoming and the "chop" is too rough to negotiate. All she knows is that eventually, she will wash up on the subjects farther shore - the kick to this poem is that he still will not care but will instead polish her bones to fine ivory piano keys - which is the kick of the poem, to show his cruelty. He sees her not as a person, but a curiosity.... he would not mourn her death, simply polish the bones.....

that says a lot about him.... in short, he's, well, things better left unsaid but i'll let you fill in the blanks.....

Dear Xanthe...

I have been on a hiatus of sorts and have not read these till now. So many poems filled with a sorrow and sadness. I must say that these are so deeply expressed that they must contain a good part of the poet in them.

Sometimes I stay away from sad poetry because I can feel it too keenly. But one must of course face up to these misfortunes and not avoid them entirely. Similar situations can come along and turn out entirely different. It all depends on the people involved. It is good to stretch the boundaries of one's endurance and know that courage can hold. Sometimes consequences can turn into adventures, we must always be open to that. Of course, I can talk of endurance, courage, and adventures when I am not in such a sad situation. So enough of that because it is generally a good long time before we can face such things clearly.

Here in the poem I do truly see resignation and the realization that one does not have / or will ever have control of this situation. I do like the sea metaphor. It is as though one is lost at sea, thrown overboard, and no amount of resuscitation will now revive the relationship.

Of course, as you say in an earlier comment, the final insult is that he would without shame shine these bones like some relic he once owned.

It is also appropriate that you should use the word, "keyed", to imply a further subtle meaning. This word implying that the bones are now ingrained with a haunting tone. The cruelty is that HE will never hear it but you will. Although, you will release your regrets, the tone of the experience will somehow still lodge itself down deep in your psyche.

Hi Richard;

That is an excellent read - as usual - of this work. This poem is about a relationship that has, as you put it, beyond resuscitation - thus the sea metaphor and the taking on water - She cannot reach him, her words fall to deaf ears, her S.O.S. unreceived as indicated. The bottom line, as you put it and as the poem says directly, is that he will never know the depths to which she has sank and instead, he will only see this as some thing that is perhaps a conquest or validation - bones to shine to a keen polish, but the true meaning of the partita is lost on him. He seems them only as a thing to be kept like a trophy, polished in the dark, never understanding the meaning or the sorrow behind the partita.... it's a rather desperate piece, i'm afraid. or perhaps not desperate, but resignation, yes.... she has given up..... she quits.... and that is awful