Starlight by Starlight

Starlight by Starlight

By Rudolph Lewis

It takes time to cross an ocean in

a boat—be you captain or slave

On some nights, I’d strip down

to trade tears for sweat. I see a

vision boldly naked. A flight of

birds in a wind field of icy blue

We are linked by dreams, ships

& blood. Stars in purple night

Seasons change by four. I look

for a happy face, a plot of land

From east to west, I travel a path

of error, of hooded men & terror

From a red clay bowl I reach up

to the sun then fall back to earth

My soul presses a field of icy blue

My rags are few; my hands are cold

* * * * *

Responses

This poem not only makes me think about all those times (as a very little girl) I strained to see what a star really was, it also makes me think about one of my great uncles who was a merchant marine and how he said it felt to be in the middle of the ocean at night. Maybe the paucity has to do with the speaker's being small compared to the horizon, the stars, the light from stars... This poem feels surreal. This is one of my favorite poems that you have written. I will read it over and over but already I love it! –Jeannette

Rudy, I really liked 'Starlight'. It too, is a visual and a 'feeling' kind of poem. A yearning and a lostness. – Anita

nice imagery again, even if I don't exactly get it. – Kam

Rudy, this is a lovely poem, particularly in the contrast between the beauty of the cold, starlit night and the horrors of the Middle Passenger as he travels through time and space. . . . . the poem is very different in tone from other ones that you've written. I meant to tell you how much it reminds me, in theme & tone, of the beginning stanzas of Cuban poet Nancy Morejón's "Black Woman," which I'll forward to you on my return to D. C., as well as a beautiful poem on Phillis Wheatley by Madgett. Both poems depict a woman who's journeying through the Middle Passage but who manages spiritually to transcend that horrible experience by focusing on the natural beauty of the sky and ocean and seagulls. They are both extraordinary poems and among my favorites because they express my philosophy of life--that it's through art, creativity, and spirituality that we finite human beings are able to endure the horrors of life. – Miriam

Hope you have recovered from your illness and all is well. This works on many levels and I feel you have found a flow that fits, so go with it and as long as you are comfortable with the style and rhythm, stick with it. "It's better to ride a donkey that likes you than a stallion that throws you..." --Charles H. Atkinson

posted 23 February 2006