A darkened world where friends were few,
was all that she had known;
wandering through the social maze
was more than she could do.
Awakening thoughts beset her mind,
confusion wrecked her path
and still she struggled through the mess,
head bowed and eyes downcast.
Without a conscious effort given,
a stumble to the library born,
the dog and horse books laid aside
for a worn tome hidden well.
The cloth was frayed, the name worn off
the pages dark and yellowed.
Yet something called from deep inside
and she gently took it home.
Oh, the worlds that opened up!
The place that she saw.
Witches, magic, monsters, too,
but not like she had seen.
She flew to other-worldly dreams
and lived in strange regards.
And so, in pages seldom read,
she found her friends and foes.
'Tis not surprising that she would bloom,
outside her little shell.
For words had rescued her from the dark
and gave her confidence.
She went on to other works
and learned of ways to cope;
but never did she put aside
the friends who gave her hope.
©2009
3-6-09
Author notes
Written in memory of André Norton who passed in March, 2005. More can be found here http://www.andre-norton.org/
Written for the contest: Contest For Philip Jose Farmer and all the great sci-fi writers who've passed on. by ecrivain01
http://allpoetry.com/contest/2438741
A contest entry
- For Philip Jose Farmer and all the great sci-fi writers who've passed on. by ecrivain01.
950 points, ended August 5, 4 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
A critical comment is invited
Comments
1 - 11 of 11
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Instantly to my mind came Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and all the books I got into that were way too old for me to read oh I love this I do.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Andre was one of my favorite authors of all time. She opened worlds for me and kept me company through a lonely school life.
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Friends are marvelous, and books can be quite a friend in time of need to learn and explore, I find reading poetry has been a good friend,enjoyed
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Thank you for your kind words. Books are the best kind of friend; they are not judgmental nor unfaithful. If only they could talk personally.
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This was quite phenomenal... it's the story of the life we all have lived, oblivious to the fact that we weren't alone.
I can also relate to it on an even more personal level, for as a child I found the same escape in fantasy novels.
It's good to see some meter on this site, especially in a non-rhyming poem. It flowed really well, emphasized syllables aligned in a rhythm, overall very intelligently handled. If you don't mind a critique, the line 'but not like she had seen' threw me off a bit. It could just be my natural inkling to rhyme things (I'd put 'not like she'd seen before'), or maybe it's having two strong syllables next to each other (had and seen), or perhaps it is just my mind wrapping things up in rhyme. It doesn't bring down the poem in anyway, I just believe there's always room for improvement in everything.
Phenomenal write, and I wouldn't have expected less. -
stunning tribute to Andre beautifully penned question are you really 102 yo im only 54 and can hardly see the screen wow if you are
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Obviously not, but I am not willing to give out my age; you beat me, though.
Thank you for the words. She was my favorite author and will be sorely missed. -
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well funny that coz ive been telling folk i have friends here from 5 yo to 102 lol well you never know my grandad died at 115 . ... that was his house nuber he was 60 but hell that sound good lol i will be back for more reading soon cheers
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I don't think I've ever read your poetry before. I must say I'm impressed. It's not too often you find someone here with a sense of metre.
I'm actually finishing up a research paper right now which talks about fiction being our modern escape to mythology. It's such a crucial medium for our imagination, and is great for presenting core values in a different perspective.
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i stopped and struggled a little with the flow in the second verse at the beginning, maybe a comma after 'born'? as iw as reading it as a flow and it stopped me in my tracks. the rest of the poem flows beautifully though, just that one section that caught me when i was reading in my mind
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While perusing this poem, I came across your comment. I reread the piece and tend to agree. Thank you for pointing it out.
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