Walttriznastories's Blog

PUBLISHED POEM

March 10, 2011 at 7:35 pm 2 comments

My poetry readers,

I offer to you my last, and most recent published poem. The poem was published by Bewildering Stories in 2007.

Let me tell you its history.

Back in the mid 1970s, I was working in New York. You already know this if you read the background for The Camera’s Eye. I would sometimes spend weekends with a coworker and her husband. They lived in Queens, but knew Manhattan which I often visited with them.

One cold winter night, I was sitting in the backseat while they drove. I happened to look out the window at a landscape of tenements, high-rises that packaged the less fortunate.

I will never forget this. Most of the windows were dark, yet one had a glaring light that drew my attention. I was mystified by this and thought about it for many years; then I finally wrote this poem.

NEW YORK BEACON

Driving along in New York City
One cold stark Saturday night,
The city alive, the tenements dark
Save a harsh fluorescent light.

What were you doing that Saturday night?
Making love, planning your life
That dark Saturday night,
That cold Saturday night.

I saw your light, that lonely light
That cold dark Saturday night.
In the distance a beacon calling us home
As we wandered through darkness that night.

The city was dark, the hope departed
That cold stark Saturday night.
But work was done and dreams were dreamed
In the shadows that journey towards light.

That time is gone, that time is past
Yet my mind recalls the sight
Of you alone amidst the sea,
That fluorescent beacon of light.

You planned, you dreamed, you lived your life,
That cold dark Saturday night.
Where are you now, what have you become?
A demon, a memory, a light.

Did you succeed, did you escape?
Did you survive your plight?
Does your beacon still shine showing the way
As we journey this lonely night?

Recently, I have been working on other poems. When I feel they are right, I will share them with you.

To all who read my blog, thank you. I hope you enjoy what I write, and more importantly, has some meaning for your life.

Walt Trizna

Entry filed under: poem, PUBLISHED POEM. Tags: Bewildering Stories, New York City, poem, published poem.