Going Across
Going Across …
What are you going to do with this loss?
What are you going to do when it’s your time to go across?
Because that line is thin
and so we’re always trying to fill it.
To the brim with a desperate shadow,
creeping over the edge to spill it.
You point a finger
at the mirror of someone other.
Uninvited and spited
like you were Solomon’s brother.
You’re mortal
but your coil is short.
You hold on for dear life
like the life of a deer who is killed for sport.
Everyone plays the part
that they think is royal.
Turns out all it is
is a life in their own soil.
You dig deep
like a mole in hiding.
But you get nowhere,
armor-plated with aluminum siding.
Your little bubble
is about to burst.
Drinking from the well
but dying of thirst.
I've been writing poetry since I was a teenager, which was back in the early 1980s. I've studied poetry a bit, have learned form, meter, alliteration, things like that; but mostly I just let it flow. Though academics tend to think rhyme is contrived, and it often is, I still use it. I think poetry is rhythm and sound. If it sounds good when you read it out loud, then it's good poetry.
I think I admire E. E. Cummings the most out of the great poets; because of his totally unorthodox approach. For substance, I like Walt Whitman. For rhythm, I like Edgar Allan Poe. For the raw stuff, I like Ginsberg. I also like a little Dylan Thomas.
As for my own writing, I like to explore deeper feelings but feelings that have broad meaning too.
Hope to share some of that meaningful writing here.
I think I admire E. E. Cummings the most out of the great poets; because of his totally unorthodox approach. For substance, I like Walt Whitman. For rhythm, I like Edgar Allan Poe. For the raw stuff, I like Ginsberg. I also like a little Dylan Thomas.
As for my own writing, I like to explore deeper feelings but feelings that have broad meaning too.
Hope to share some of that meaningful writing here.
Latest posts by Nathan Bernardo (see all)
- Sects: You All in the Course - April 10, 2021
- Going Across - March 24, 2019
- A Final Song - February 25, 2018
Most creative and expressive love lines like your bubble is about to burst. Nice one.
Good to hear from you, Nathan. I enjoyed reading your expressive poem. Well done.
Incredible closing lines to a well written poem thank you Nathan for sharing. I hope to read more soon. Jamie
Yes, we are all mortal and holding on for dear life. Good poetry here Nathan, and so good to have you back.
Excellent poetry Nathan, I can only echo what those before me have said, I do love that closing line, it is really powerful. Nice work.