The Sun Is in No Race

Jeffrey Powell 1979 (Pittsburgh, PA)

Free verse

The sun is in no race
as it has nothing to chase,
it just makes its way
'cross the heavens each day.
The shadows that it casts
land upon the things that last
amongst what's missed in our midst.
But the funny twist,
is what are we to that
which hides in shade like a cat?
Maybe it's what they don't tout,
as that sun sets our souls seep out.

About this poem

It occurred to me how the sun was here before most and will outlive many more and that's how this arose.

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Written on October 16, 2016

Submitted by JokerGem on September 12, 2022

Modified by JokerGem on September 12, 2022

: 23 sec read
: 41 Views

Quick analysis:

Scheme	AABBCDEFGGHH
Closest metre	Iambic trimeter
Characters	340
Words	76
Stanzas	1
Stanza Lengths	12

Full analysis for The Sun Is in No Race »

Jeffrey Powell

A bit of an introvert, Jeffrey enjoys using words and poetry as an outlet for expressing his thoughts and feelings. He tends to play by his own rules and darts in and out of the civilized world, as avoiding the conventional gathering is more his style. Jeffrey lives with his fraternal twin whom he enjoys sharing a laugh with at the opportune time. more…

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Vixility
Love the reason behind the poem, and the poem itself!

I feel like we need more works that revolve around (not being funny) the moon and planets and other celestial events. The last line of the poem reminds me of a piece written by Fyodor Tyutchev, titled: "Day and Night". In that poem, Tyutchev explains why we internally fear the night sky. In your poem, does 'the soul seeping out' represent a mystical experience, or one of dread? more »
LikeReply9 months ago
- JokerGem
  Not necessarily dread (though l do imply an ominousness) but for sure, the terminable state of our lives that we don't think about - that they are these shadowy things lurking down here on earth (like the darkness in space) - which the sun will outlive whether it shines on us or not. And that, "our souls are slowly seeping out" but with each sunrise and sunset the solar life lumbers on without regard to us. Kinda combined the cosmic with inevitable facts...but yeah, the last line was the hook! Glad this struck your fancy, thanks for the positive feedback!
  ;> more »
  LikeReply 19 months ago

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