The Walking Man
By Jane Hyphen
- 527 reads
Have you seen the walking man
Roaming on the ridge
Trundling through the forrest
Striding on the bridge
Beanie-head and booted feet
Walking to a dead beat
Never smiles or meets your eyes
Only looks to read the skies
Left right, left right
Carving up the sunlight
Far and wide he doesn't see
Short-circuit of a man is he
He knows the woods and winding lanes
'I saw him there, he's there again!'
Inside his pack some water, smokes
Some bread and cheese, a knife, a rope
For when he cannot walk no more
A wave to wash him off the shore
Every day the same, contained
Come snow and gales or sheets of rain
His day is sown, his future haltered
The balance of his mind unaltered
He dwells in rooms with itchy beds
And other men with jangled heads
Before the man the boy was keen
To march in time and wear the green
They pin him down the things he's seen
When he was working for the queen
To time he treads the tufted ground
And feels his comrades all around
Their faces in the Hawthorn bloom
Their voices in the Blackbird's tune
He's treading water, threading air
Remembering when he was there
Expression blank and legs of wire
For hours on end he'll never tire
His feet are sure, he feels no pain
An ordered life is in his veins
Through the valley, down the dale
Pounds the footpath on the vale
The walking keeps his body clean
And cuts his nerves to something lean
He smells of soap, spotless he keeps
Himself and shaves his hollowed cheeks
Don't fret for your dear daughters
On the quiet, wooded winds
He's had his fill of grizzled flesh
His share of heinous crimes
His sacred sisters call him up
And hear him talk in stifled burst
He cannot love, he fears the worst
Their loving force will warm his heart
And blisters of his mind will burst
He roams until his body's spent
Sleeping, walking overlap
The sag of time will shatter him
To stop and think, he leaves no gap
- Log in to post comments
Comments
enjoyed, this rolled along
enjoyed, this rolled along really well, lots of expressive movement ('pound/treading/carving') &lovely phrases throughout complimenting the tale - 'Carving up the sunlight/his future haltered/threading air/legs of wire'. :-)
- Log in to post comments
An interesting depiction!
An interesting depiction!
Excellent poem!!
- Log in to post comments