Thyrsis Poem by David McLansky

I heard his singing from the meadow
While on a slope down by the sea
It was a song whispered low
But oh it pierced the heart of me

The meadow grass was long and green
A waving sea bent in the wind
I loved a man sight unseen
And searched the beach for sight of him

I found him sitting on a rock
Staring out to sea
Alone in such a friendless spot
His arm upon his knee

He wore a tattered old pea coat
His face was thin, a shock of curls
He sucked a pipe and gently smoked
Hair and smoke, wind-swept, unfurled.


His eyes had such a lonely look
His face was set and grim
Left handedly he held a book
I loved the sight of him

He sings forlorn, all alone
No one answers him
Should I call out from out my stone
At the waters rim?

He thought of trips,
Of sailing ships,
Of seas and breaking foam;
He thought of gulls,
Their lonely calls
Of journeys long from home

He thought of cold
And dark sea nights,
Of terns in weaving, wing-ed flight;
He thought of waves
And spars and staves
And stars that burned so bright;

His eyes had such a lonely look
His face was set and grim
Left handedly he held a book
I loved the sight of him

He sings forlorn, all alone
No one answers him
Should I call out from out my stone
At the waters rim?

He thought of trips,
Of sailing ships,
Of seas and breaking foam;
He thought of gulls,
Their lonely calls
Of journeys long from home

He thought of cold
And dark sea nights,
Of terns in weaving, wing-ed flight;
He thought of waves
And spars and staves
And stars that burned so bright;


He thought of loves
He'd left behind
Of bitter words,
Harsh, unkind;
He thought of tears
And heated threats;
He'd left the shore
With few regrets.

And yet this rock
He called his home;
A sailing man
Of brine and bone;
What drew him back
To this strewn beach?
The weathered shack?
The grey gulls screech?

She peaked while parting
Spears of grass
Her eyes like sparkling
Silvered glass;

And watched him from
Her hiding place;
This creature of
A mortal race.

How sad he seemed
How all forlorn
This mortal man
Of woman born;
Dare she entwine
Their separate fates?
What love is so
Considerate?

Dare she of God,
Immortal born,
Reach out and touch
His mortal form?
What use in loving
Only days
One who
Senseless
Time decays?


To watch him hobble
On the beach
Humbled, fall,
Just out of reach?
Could she love
A dying man,
His shock of curls
A few white strands?

Could she watch him
So decline
This man of wind
And salty brine;
Could she love him
Paralyzed
With only movement
In his eyes?

She thought it better
To let Fate pass,
She hard-stepped back,
Releasing grass;
Dislodging lose
A pebble stone
Revealing he
Was not alone