Nocturne

Today's featured poem is an ekphrastic piece by John, based on a painting by James McNeal Whistler.  Notice the shift in perspective in the poem: how it moves from casual observation to directly addressing the subject of the painting in a familiar voice, like a close friend.

Darkness,
a lonely man, on a lonely boat, in a lonely land

Dusk,
the sun never rises, the haze never lifts, the moon never changes

Deserted,
no one is there to be nice to you (like your nifty neighbors), no one is there to guide
you on your path (like your loving loved ones), no one is there to assist your small
needs (like your fun-filled friends)

Deported,
all joy and creativity are cast away upon arrival

Deemed,
the only man lurking there meets punishment for his evil acts like those decades before him

Despair,
this man despairs about his mistakes just like those generations before him have despaired

Dread,
this man now dreads the fact that he has accomplished a vast amount of bad deeds

Desperation,
this man is desperate to be forgiven (for his selfish acts)


Hope,
light rests off in the distance,

civilization lies ahead,

why did you ever start to despair in the first place, my friend?

There is no such thing as a villain, there are only those who have been misled,
we all have problems and mistakes we make (in life) that we need to improve upon,
there is not such thing as no hope.