Myth Poem by Natasha Trethewey

Myth

Rating: 4.4


I was asleep while you were dying.
It's as if you slipped through some rift, a hollow
I make between my slumber and my waking,
the Erebus I keep you in, still trying
not to let go. You'll be dead again tomorrow,
but in dreams you live. So I try taking
you back into morning. Sleep-heavy, turning,
my eyes open, I find you do not follow.
Again and again, this constant forsaking.
Again and again, this constant forsaking:
my eyes open, I find you do not follow.
You back into morning, sleep-heavy, turning.
But in dreams you live. So I try taking,
not to let go. You'll be dead again tomorrow.
The Erebus I keep you in—still, trying—
I make between my slumber and my waking.
It's as if you slipped through some rift, a hollow.
I was asleep while you were dying.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Dr Antony Theodore 27 March 2020

I was asleep while you were dying. I make between my slumber and my waking. It's as if you slipped through some rift, a hollow. a very fine poem. tony

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Dr Antony Theodore 30 April 2019

ou'll be dead again tomorrow, but in dreams you live. So I try taking you back into morning. Sleep-heavy, turning, my eyes open, I find you do not follow. very original way of presentation. tony

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Susan Williams 03 March 2016

Heartrending. It is the poet's calling to put down in words the sounds our hearts make as they are breaking, the odd things that our eyes see or wish to see again, the skin we will never feel again- -so that we never forget what it is to be brokenly human.

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