The Lost Boy

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Stephen Whiteside
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The Lost Boy

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Sat Mar 10, 2018 5:09 pm

The Lost Boy

I found the boy in a little flat in the ruined heart of town.
He’d set up camp on a faded couch as the bombs kept raining down.
I didn’t try to reassure – I saw no point in that.
I only asked how he endured inside that little flat.

I asked about his courage, surely sourced from some great well,
The work of conversation served to calm us for a spell.
Yet still I scarce could comprehend the threat was quite so near,
That he must live from day to day alone, and with such fear.

At last I left him sitting there, and went off on my way,
For I had far to travel still before the close of day.
My conscience tugged me slightly, but he was no child of mine,
And the fate that had befallen him was not of my design.

As the sun sank lower, I began to count the cost
Of leaving him behind. I also worried, was I lost?
I felt a gentle brush against my palm, and turned to see,
Though I had left behind a little stranger, he’d found me!

© Stephen Whiteside 10.03.2018
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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Shelley Hansen
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by Shelley Hansen » Mon Mar 12, 2018 4:56 pm

Very poignant and intriguing, Stephen!
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
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"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
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David Campbell
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by David Campbell » Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:58 pm

Did anything in particular prompt this one, Stephen? The image that sprang to my mind was the widely publicised photo from a couple of years ago of the little boy sitting in an ambulance in Aleppo after he'd been pulled from the wreckage of a bombed building.

David

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Catherine Lee
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by Catherine Lee » Tue Mar 13, 2018 4:44 pm

Intriguing indeed, Stephen - and like David, certain images definitely sprung to mind as I read this one

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:10 am

Thanks, all. I remember the boy, David, but no. The poem was based on a dream I had the previous night.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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Shelley Hansen
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by Shelley Hansen » Wed Mar 14, 2018 10:10 pm

Wow! Good on you Stephen, for finding inspiration even in your dreams!

Like the others, my mind immediately went to the tragic images of today’s war zones.

I really like the poem’s simplicity. It says so much.

Cheers
Shelley
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com

"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:18 am

Thank you, Shelley.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

Neville Briggs
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by Neville Briggs » Thu Mar 15, 2018 3:32 pm

Writing music or poetry from dreams, I think, has a history in art. ( Blake, Berlioz, Mahler, Isaiah, John the Divine among others )
But do these dreams really mean anything or reveal anything . Maybe dream poems do??
Neville
" Prose is description, poetry is presence " Les Murray.

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Stephen Whiteside
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Re: The Lost Boy

Post by Stephen Whiteside » Thu Mar 15, 2018 3:42 pm

I know Coleridge's "The Ancient Mariner" came from a dream.
Stephen Whiteside, Australian Poet and Writer
http://www.stephenwhiteside.com.au

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