Mystery of the Bend

Phillip Albert King 1944 (Manhattan)

Speak again, sweet autumn breeze, to quake the aspen's gold. Whisper once again your song, for I am weary-old.
Please reveal your mystic charms, before the winter's cold. Lead me to the water's edge to let my life unfold.

Smile, dear stream, for me once more, cool current of the fall. Rub your sultry shoulders, a caress I do recall.
Swim your soul in velvet blue, a water woven shawl, round the mystery of the bend, into the wooded hall.

Remember me, dark forest please, of the scented glen.
Take me there on silken wings, to linger now and then;
To drift among the cedared knolls, past a whistling wren. Beyond the soul of feathered ferns, to remember when.

Could I with another chance revive the splendid past?
Wander through the fleeting time that I assumed would last. Contemplate in reverie all that has flowed so fast. Let me lay my ancient head, to dream a dream so vast.

About this poem

A tribute to my friend who died before his time. He loved to fish, and his ashes were placed in his favorite stream.

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Written on February 03, 2022

Submitted by phil0238 on February 03, 2022

Modified on May 01, 2023

: 51 sec read
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Quick analysis:

Scheme	AA BB CCC DD
Characters	883
Words	170
Stanzas	4
Stanza Lengths	2, 2, 3, 2

Full analysis for Mystery of the Bend »

Phillip Albert King

An old poet, trying to say something about and for my friend. more…

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Journey
A great tribute to a friend set in great imagery in Rhythmic flow
A really enjoyable poem
LikeReply1 year ago
johnc.22519
I like the way you've addressed each of the first three verses to a different thing that your fishing friend would have loved, then rounded it off with some movingly expressed philosophy. It reminds me of Omar Kayyam:

The Moving Finger writes, and, having writ,
Moves on; nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

ad but true. A beautiful tribute. Keep writing. John more »
LikeReply 12 years ago
Poetbird
Phillip this is genius. You took metaphor, imagination, human comparison and your own experiences and put them together in an amazing surreal experience for us to identify with. You are a great man Sir Phillip. I am humbled. Trevor more »
LikeReply 22 years ago
abielias1
A beautiful tribute, full of meaning. May your friend rest in peace in his 'water woven shawl'.
LikeReply 12 years ago

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"Mystery of the Bend" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/121968/mystery-of-the-bend>.

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