Jeffrey Hull

I Stood upon the Sky

I stood upon the sky and did not fall,
   I walked beneath the sea and yet had breath;
I sailed past deadly rock and Sirens' call,
   Marched by the Gates of Hell and laughed at Death.

I took up red hot iron and was not burned,
   Lay long upon the rack that broke me not;
Though burning desert parched, all water spurned,
   Endured so long that Time itself forgot.

And in Time's measure, fell again to earth,
   By water, rack, and iron broken then,
'Til soul-despairing, wept for my sad birth;
   And by a word from you — reborn again.


© 2005 Jeffrey Hull

I am pleased the poem touched you. That was certainly its intent. If you cannot quite put your finger on your response so easily, that is all the better—then I have actually written a poem. Of course you bring your life experience to the table; that is part of the magic of poetry. Ambiguity can produce clarity. How miraculous.

Thank you for reading attentively, and thank you for your comments.

I particularly like the first two lines. They could be used as mottoes. They typify what lhombre, in a comment on a previous poem, called a combination of lyricism and toughness.

Oh, Jeff. I see you standing there like one enourmous raindrop. And the poem takes me from the tme you begin to move downard through the sky as you transform over the very time you allude to in metaphor. This is reflection THROUGH the raindrop as opposed to a glancing image from its side. Very beautiful Jeff! Terrific title.

ps. I am especially taken with what I feel through my reading of the poem as a victory over one of humankinds most treacherous drawbacks: self-pity!

I need to clarify my ps. I meant "self-pity" as a general theme that surfaces through the poem. This poem simply gives that theme, for me at least, more poeti resonance; therefore, wisdom.