Poetry Forum

No Ways Tired


The tree is budding now and green.
Its trunk stands straight; its boughs unfold
with new buds, though the boughs are old.
From them the catkins hang serene.

And in the grove, the daylight falls
on dappled bud and dappled leaf.
I have outlasted my belief,
though I look up when Heaven calls.


Inclusive of pain, exclusive of joy,
my heart does its two-step and will not stop.
I danced without strings for the gods to enjoy:
I danced for the gods, and I did not drop.

This is the last poem in my MS.

Cheers,
John

The marionette is free! The reference to hang/grove perhaps a darker echo 'I have outlasted my belief' is a great line. Thank you for sharing your MS John. I am not religious, but the poems did give me some insight on the illness. Congratulations on your survival and triumph!

Thank you, Phil – it’s very good to hear your perspective, secular as you are, it gives me some insight into whether I can pitch this to non-religious ears, and Iv’e edited accordingly more than once! I am certain the MS. is the better for it.

As you say, the marionette is free. I’ve got no strings comes from this Disney movie:


And hence the conclusion. You are also right to be leery of the grove, it’s an alder grove, hence the catkins, and refers back to my alder king poems earlier. The king is dead, the tree is reborn in spring. So, a tad dark!

Glad you enjoyed the line about belief, it seemed to make sense. It’s very good to hear there is insight into the illness for a sympathetic reader, and your words about survival and triumph are very heartening!

Oh – No Ways Tired is an old spiritual.

Cheers,
John

This is the last poem in my MS.

Thank fuck.

i''ve no idea what "MS" means and I found it pretty impenetrable.

As you were.

me too thank fuck

Tony

Yeah, different people know different things. MS. means manuscript, for instance.

As you were.

Oh - I think my answer is to post a poem a day. So I'm looking forward to that.

John