The Lingering Passionate Light

Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)



Awake before you go to sleep
you dare not at me take a peep.
Hot-tempered I be with friend or foe
and still you court me head to toe.
Asleep in darkness yet I shine.
My eyes are open all the time.


When you are cold I give you heat.
When you are hot I’m on the beat.
You circle me like loyal friends
as if on me your life depends.
Not nearby, yet I’m all around.
The guardian angel of your ground.


Though far away I never stray.
Nor can you ever keep me at bay.
So nurture me with all your love.
I’ll shelter you from up above.
I’ll be your everlasting friend.
Come rain or shine I’ll you defend.


Through Winter, Summer, Spring or Fall
I’ll be a hero to you all.
No one is favored less or more.
For all you earthlings I adore.
I was, I am, and I shall always be
The lingering passionate light you see.

About this poem

This poem is written lyrically in the form of a riddle, expressed in allegorical language and put forth as a puzzle to be solved, begging for a solution of the question, Who am I? The title of the poem provides a strong though disguised clue to the intended meaning. While the poem may have appeal to people of all ages, it was written particularly with children in mind to whet their curiosity; hence the rhyming scheme to facilitate memorization and, as a byproduct, comprehension of the poem and its message concerning this important solar object.  

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Written on September 28, 2021

Submitted by karlcfolkes on September 28, 2021

Modified by karlcfolkes on May 02, 2022

56 sec read
224

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBXX CCDDEE FFGGHH IIJJKK
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 820
Words 189
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6

Karl Constantine FOLKES

Retired educator of Jamaican ancestry with a lifelong interest in composing poetry dealing particularly with the metaphysics of self-reflection; completed a dissertation in Children’s Literature in 1991 at New York University entitled: An Analysis of Wilhelm Grimm’s “Dear Mili” Employing Von Franzian Methodological Processes of Analytical Psychology. The subject of the dissertation concerned the process of Individuation. more…

All Karl Constantine FOLKES poems | Karl Constantine FOLKES Books

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    "The Lingering Passionate Light" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/110742/the-lingering-passionate-light>.

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