Al Purdy Honoured
Douglas Blair 1951 (London)
MARRIED MAN'S SONG
Al Purdy
When he makes love to the young girl
what does the middle-aged long-married
man say to himself and the girl?
— that lovers live and desk clerks perish?
When neons flash the girl into light and shadow
the room vanishes and all those others
guests who checked out long ago
are smiling
and only the darkness of her may be touched
only the whiteness looked at
she stands above him as a stone goddess
weeping tears and honey
she is half his age and far older
and how can a man tell his wife this?
Later they'll meet in all politeness
not quite strangers but never friends
and hands touched elsewhere may shake together
with brush of fingers and casual eyes
and the cleanser cleans to magic whiteness
and love survives in the worst cologne
(but not girls' bodies that turn black leather)
for all believe in the admen's lies
In rare cases among the legions of married men
such moments of shining have never happened
and whether to praise such men for their steadfast virtue
or condemn them as fools for living without magic
answer can hardly be given
There are rooms for rent in the outer planets
and neons blaze in Floral Sask
we live with death but it's life we die with
in the blossoming earth where springs the rose
In house and highway in town and country
what's given is paid for blood gifts are sold
that stars' white fingers unscrew the light bulbs
the bill is due and the desk clerk wakes
outside our door the steps are quiet
light comes and goes from a ghostly sun
where only the darkness may be remembered
and the rest is gone
About this poem
One of Canada’s best in free verse. No category in this forum. Glad to see however, that you do have a category for E. Pauline Johnson. Indian princess poet of Brant County, Ontario.
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Written on January 15, 2000
Submitted by dougb.72572 on December 12, 2022
Modified by dougb.72572 on December 12, 2022
- 1:30 min read
- 7 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AB CXCX DXDXXXEBFX EXFGEXFG XXXXH XAXXBXXXXHXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,566 |
Words | 298 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 4, 10, 8, 5, 12 |
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