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Beyond the Shore
Consider a realm where this poem
is unread by mortal eyes
not one sentence witnessed here
finds its way to viewer’s grace
this happenstance of the muse
tossed like a bottle beyond the shore
without a purpose except to state
dictation meant for higher realms
taunting gods in surly jest
for the pains words can’t express
lines inscribed that disappear
perhaps they were never here
the whine with cheese in a poem
now at the end in reader’s eyes
with cheerful thanks even as
the void consumes words not meant to last.
© 2019. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20190829.
is unread by mortal eyes
not one sentence witnessed here
finds its way to viewer’s grace
this happenstance of the muse
tossed like a bottle beyond the shore
without a purpose except to state
dictation meant for higher realms
taunting gods in surly jest
for the pains words can’t express
lines inscribed that disappear
perhaps they were never here
the whine with cheese in a poem
now at the end in reader’s eyes
with cheerful thanks even as
the void consumes words not meant to last.
© 2019. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20190829.
Published 30th Aug 2019
Author's Note
The poem “Beyond the Shore” is about the frustration and the magic of writing poetry. Is the outcome read? Does the struggle put to words matter? One day the void will have an answer.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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Commenting Preference:
The author encourages honest critique.
30th Aug 2019 7:00am
I enjoyed your message in the bottle drunk with a smile at your pleasant choice of words and expression. Nicely said. And nicely written
11th Nov 2024 1:27am
Enjoyable. This poem seeks to employ unusual words, such as "realm", "happenstance", "surly", and so on, to convey a sense of otherworldliness.
Just as much of the poem's diction is often less commonly used in ordinary speech, this poem concerns itself with the strange worlds "beyond the shore", with the infinite possibilities that lie beyond the mundane.
After all, words such as "mortal" and "inscribed" are rare to find in simple conversation between friends, therefore suggesting a sense of something beyond the ordinary. To consistently and conspicuously utilise such diction shows that the technique is important to the poem. And the poem deals with the longing to transcend humdrum "life", to sail to lands and seas of the radiant imagination. It goes so far as to conjure visions of such realms through its frequently formal and more exotic word choices. The poem might have been written in simpler, more idiomatic language. But it would therefore have not attempted to create a mysterious effect that taunts the reader with the possibility of the impossible, even as we feel bitter frustration at the nature of reality.
Just as much of the poem's diction is often less commonly used in ordinary speech, this poem concerns itself with the strange worlds "beyond the shore", with the infinite possibilities that lie beyond the mundane.
After all, words such as "mortal" and "inscribed" are rare to find in simple conversation between friends, therefore suggesting a sense of something beyond the ordinary. To consistently and conspicuously utilise such diction shows that the technique is important to the poem. And the poem deals with the longing to transcend humdrum "life", to sail to lands and seas of the radiant imagination. It goes so far as to conjure visions of such realms through its frequently formal and more exotic word choices. The poem might have been written in simpler, more idiomatic language. But it would therefore have not attempted to create a mysterious effect that taunts the reader with the possibility of the impossible, even as we feel bitter frustration at the nature of reality.
