Petersburg, 1979.



October calm
and earlier dusk.
Anton on bicycle
Scurries home.
Bread and some cheese
Picked up.
And four oranges.
Costly as silver.


Betje cooks the soup
Up on fifth floor.
Her partner is coming.
Her life
Her laughter.
He’s been at
The new factory job.
These last four months.
People seem to take to him.


Children are away
At the State School.
Residential.
Uniformed.
By the clock.
Doctrinaire.
Anna eleven.
Mikhail nine.
How they are missed.
But New Years will come.
And song.
And brighter colours.
Heavy snow outside.
Icicles as ornaments.
(to the Christ child).


House Church continues.
As quietly as possible.
Pastor Stefan almost
Arrested last week on
Trumped up foolishness.
Lord Jesus, safeguard us.
Steel and strengthen us.


Dishwater Lovers still.
And seated.
Subdued lighting their friend.
Reading aloud about
King David at Ziklag.
And hopelessness
Overcome.


Volumes of Dostoyevsky
Up on the shelf
Dappled with portions of Light
And Gospel
For criminals, thieves
Prostitutes, police, seeming idiots
Aristocrats, gamblers.
All sorts are welcome.


Also Tolstoy
With his “Resurrection.”


*Read First Epistle of Peter, chapters one and two.

About this poem

A very good read that relates is entitled The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey. Preacher’s Kid who turns from the organized church to find Heroic Jesus elsewhere.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on May 31, 2023

Submitted by dougb.19255 on May 31, 2023

Modified by dougb.19255 on May 31, 2023

1:10 min read
15

Quick analysis:

Scheme XABXCXXD XXXXDXXXX XXBXXXEXXFXCXXX XBXXGGG XXXXAGF AXXBXXXF XE X
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,162
Words 234
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 8, 9, 15, 7, 7, 8, 2, 1

Wayne Blair

Born in London. Graduated law 1976 Practised eleven years, Married Hilary 1974 Two kids Lauren 1980 And Jordan 1987. Business failed 1987. Moved not knowing whither. Happy hills of Waterloo Region. Mennonite Country. Thirty four years in Industry. No complaints. Poet, photographer, nature hiker. Harmonica busker. http://puffnchord7.blogspot.com/ more…

All Wayne Blair poems | Wayne Blair Books

11 fans

Discuss the poem Petersburg, 1979. with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Petersburg, 1979." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 Oct. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/160450/petersburg,-1979.>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    October 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    0
    days
    4
    hours
    31
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Fire And Ice"?
    A Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    B Robert Frost
    C Gerard Manley Hopkins
    D Edgar Allan Poe