The Empty Bed
A father teaches a son
everything he knows . . .
Sometimes, it
isn’t enough
Furrows plowing, seedlings
dying, a daughter screams,
As young Johnny goes off
to the city
A step-child of his
own desire
Wandering the avenues
and alleyways
Searching high in the lights
for his name
But only a shadow
comes down from the neon
Dark and invisible
as he walks
A soul without
acceptance
A new emptiness fills
the hardened cracks,
—and hallowing cement void
Where the stench of severed roots
and singed beginnings,
—meet and die
And from 1000 miles
a father walks in the darkness,
—ancient and alone
Passing an empty bed
in a dimly lit country hallway,
—asking why
(Chicago Illinois: July, 1977)
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Submitted by KurtPhilipBehm on December 02, 2016
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 35 sec read
- 97 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XX XX AX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XXX XAB XXX XXB B |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 703 |
Words | 117 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 1 |
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"The Empty Bed" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/45337/the-empty-bed>.
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