The nearly man

JP. 1948 (United Kingdom)



THE NEARLY MAN

Defend your space as best you can
It was just an eye contact, a flash in the pan
Erect the defence but do it now
This one got through but you don’t know how

So little in common not like you at all
You are safe in that fortress the walls are so tall
Looking down from your tower, aloof and alone
He can see but not touch through six feet of stone

Yet something just happened but you cannot say what
As you felt the ties loosen in that Gordian knot
No it cannot be him he seems brash and so coarse
And a little too physical astride that white horse

What you need is gentle and not found in a man
 Taking solace from solitude that is your plan
But there is something about him as he waits at the gate
An enigma so curious you cannot relate

Will you speak or stay silent? Just smile let him pass?
Is it already too late to relieve this impasse?
Will he wait or be gone as quick as he came?
Not given the chance to know this lady’s name

As your gossamer favour falls wisp like from the tower
Allowed to fall freely by a hand of the hour
You walk but not run to examine your fate
Thoughts filled with the possible you did not contemplate

Cast down he has left but you cannot think why
On the high road to quest when you let him pass by
And your heart is imprisoned by a vision you saw
As you ponder what might have been still you want more

As you walk the ramparts hoping that he will return
Scouring horizons you secretly yearn
To see once again If only you can
That very same nearly, Oh so nearly man

JP.
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Submitted by johnworthy03 on May 17, 2021

1:31 min read
11

Quick analysis:

Scheme A AABB CCDD XXEE AAFF GGHH IIFF JJXX KKAA
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,487
Words 306
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

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    "The nearly man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100206/the-nearly-man>.

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