The wind through the willows whispers tonight
In a soft complement to the tawny moonlight.
Two headstones, two graves, each laid side by side;
He once was her groom and she was his bride.
A hoot-owl sings solo, his passionate song
Echoes each night until long after dawn.
The carpet of grass laid upon every tomb
Becomes their own dance floor - where love is in bloom.
For here in the darkness, beneath starry skies,
In the still of this graveyard are heard the soft sighs
As two ghostly shadows rise and then merge
And I watch in amazement as two forms converge.
Though I’ve stood in this spot, now, many a time
It still renders me speechless, the beauty sublime,
And I’ve no explanation - all logic fails me -
There is no justifying this vision I see.
I stand there dumbfounded, a blubbering fool,
With tears in my eyes that I can not control
And I marvel the power of unbridled love
That poets and sages have often spoke of.
Then I glance at the headstones - my mom and my dad -
Recalling the wondrous love that they had
And how on dad’s deathbed, with his final breath,
He swore that his love could, indeed, conquer death.
I watch as they sway for one short, final while;
Then turn away slowly and knowingly smile -
They’ll dance until daybreak, then fade with first light,
And they’ll waltz with the wind in the willows tonight.
A contest entry
- Ghosts by Frodofan.
475 points, ended February 29, 2008, 8 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 20 of 20
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This is beautiful! Maybe not absolutley perfect with rhythm throughout, but still - beautiful! The story is so touching and you really painted a picture withy our words. I LOVE this. It's just wonderful.
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Sad... and beautiful. Thanks for entering!
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Thank you Ruth for this fine entry in the final of our series of contests. This was a beautiful poem, sad and haunting and a joy to read. We would like to thank you for your support during these contests and we hope you have had as much pleasure writing as we have reading.
Please look for more contests from us in the future, we look forward to reading more of your work.
All the best
Sue and Jeff
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Beautiful!
I actually got goosebumps reading this. Lovely verse, great rhythm and rhyme. Love the imagery of nature such as,
A hoot-owl sings solo, his passionate song
Echoes each night until long after dawn.
Great job.
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This is lovely, it has a bittersweet intonation. I love, love poems but I found it sad that image is of a mom and dad who are gone. The rhyme and meter add so much to this wonderful story.
Love,
Amera♥ -
Now it's just flawless, this time I'm lost for words.
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Ruth such beauty in this one the melody it raised in my mind while reading for a moment detracted me from the wonderful words.This is you at your very best ( hold on ,I always say that ) could be that each one is worthy of such a comment Excellent
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Lovely use of alliteration in the first and final lines, great play of sound and movement and stillness, a strong sense of balance, beautiful flow and rhythm and rhyme, deliberate but not heavy handed. Just the use of the word glimpse in the sisth stanza throws the line a bit, maybe "glance at" might work better, but I hate to be critical becasue this poem is really gorgeous! The feeling of loss and wonder is so strong and even your tone radiates the power of love over death. It's such a well penned and moving write.
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Thank you so much for your lovely comment and for the suggestion. I had used the word 'glimpse' in that line because I was using the word 'glance' in the stanza below. I've changed up the final two stanzas a bit and would appreciate if you'd see if this works better where you are concerned. Again, thank you
Ruth
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AAAwwwww, this is so beautiful with a lovely smooth rythme and flow. I just stumbled a little on the 2nd line of the last stanza it seemed slightly jerky but overall you have done a very good job. Well done and good luck in the contest. Val
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Thank you so much for your comment on my poem In The Willows Tonight. I've edited the final two stanzas due to your comment and another on the next to last stanza. I'd appreciate it if you'd stop back in and see if the changes work better for you
Ruth
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This is beautiful...while reading I could create many images from your words. Love is a strong emotion, I can see how it could carry on through death...well done, thanks for sharing
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Excellent poem! It's an often overdone subject matter, but you made it interesting and new. Great job!
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this had me at the first stanza, especially with
"Two headstones, two graves, each laid side by side;
He once was her groom and she was his bride."
Wonderful flow..and emotional story within the poem - it brings tears to me..
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Holy Brilliance
This peace contains quite the imagination and brilliance. I enjoyed the vocabulary as well, and your style of writing.
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This is a beautifully penned quatrain. The rhyme and meter is on target and that is what most likely drew the judges attention. I think the image and emotion is top rate. Well done!
Love,
Amera♥
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Wonderful imagery! What a touching story of love's passion and tenderness. It flows well and rhymes beautifully.
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wow
this is a great write, i love your imagery. i could almost see what you wrote. seriously i have goosebumps and a lump in my throat, not many poems do that to me. =D
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Excellent piece of art you have here. Wonderful rhyming, non forced at all. Loved the imagery to this. I LOVED this piece, keep up the good work and good luck in your contest.
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Wow... this was amazing. Really... the detail and the message and the imagery... and the rhyming... just everything, EVERYTHING was awesome. You did such a fantastic job with this! I LOVED IT! Not that you should need it but good luck.
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