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| Edin Chavez |
The Wild Hunt
All the day I ran
to catch you
outsmart you
outrun the rattling feet
disappeared in the night,
flown before me.
Crouched in the thicket panting
watching,
learning your ways;
where you are hard and protected,
where a sudden strike might find
the heart.
Under the standing sun and
under the flying moon I tracked you,
followed your spoor till I dropped on the rocks,
hot with the calling of the blood,
chilled with sweat in the empty night.
Down
in the village a dead woman lies—
So you’ve been this way
noiseless and gone.
In the torchlight her face at last unfocused
seems to smile.
Must I avenge her
though she is free,
though she was the enemy?
though you and she are
neither real,
live nor dead,
but only running shadows
where some hellhound passed me
on the grassy hillside hiding.
November 1987
Photo Courtesy of Edin Chavez
All Rights Reserved
what a haunting chase..
ReplyDeletepowerful piece.
Thanks for sharing it with potluck poetry.
you rock!
xxx
That was exciting to read, dark, suspenseful, as well as thought-provoking. In my mind, I could picture shadows and creatures of the dark running in the dead of night.
ReplyDeleteThis has a dark, mystical feeling to it. Evocative images and gorgeous photo. So well done. I enjoyed your mission statement and profile as well.
ReplyDeleteNow THIS makes me want to stand out in the winds and cheer Old One Eye one last time on his soul hunts before winter drives him away! Fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDelete"Outrun the rattling feet" - such perfect imagery!
ReplyDeleteThis had me shivering.
It all unfolded before my eyes.
Its a perfect and vivid... great imagination at work..
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing...
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com
lovely..
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the imagery your words evoked and the story you told.
ReplyDeleteAnita.
http://anitaslovepoetry.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-am.html
wonderfully done! this verse seems to stand out to me
ReplyDeleteUnder the standing sun and
Under the flying moon I tracked you,
Followed your spoor till I dropped on the rocks,
Hot with the calling of the blood,
Chilled with sweat in the empty night
enjoyed this very much
thank you
The poem seems to have the pace of the hunt in it, great to read. Quite chilling too!
ReplyDeletehttp://jessicasjapes.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/sister/
Chilling, but mystical too. Interesting combination. I particularly liked the last stanza.
ReplyDeleteHappy potluck!
That closing stanza. Oh, my. My breath left me.
ReplyDeleteRunning from our own hell, outrunning our shadows..to be free before we die..this touched me so much! Well done...
ReplyDeleteA haunting piece hedgewitch.
ReplyDeletehappy potluck!
Pamela
That last stanza is a killer!
ReplyDeleteThanks all, for taking the time to drop by and leave your comments. I appreciate them all.
ReplyDelete@Lyn, yes, that's exactly the place it came from. Good to see you here.
Wonderfully written piece, oh but to chase another life, hidden in the elements, which will be the victor.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great piece! I love the thrill of the chase wrapped in the mystery!
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading, I was envisioning a sort of "pit and pendulum" thing going on - enjoyed the write!
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice poem that is very nice.
ReplyDeleteWut? You expect more than that from me? Oh, all right....
This poem packs a punch, woman. Boy howdy. There are so many lines I love. The sudden strike to the heart. The standing sun and flying moon. Lovin all that. But then the part about finding the dead woman "so you've been this way" is so chillingly clever and paints such a sharp and dark picture of the pursued.
This piece just seems to build on itself like a train going downhill with the breaks gone, and indeed, that's how this "hunt" strikes me. Something that may have begun as something semi-rational but which has spun out of control into obsession and raw momentum moving into some kind of not-quite-natural realm.
The final stanza is masterful. I can feel the whole unholy thing tearing through the night; can sense the big eyes and wide nostrils of the one hiding. Wow.
@FB This poem is not nice it is super nice.
ReplyDeleteYes, this was definitely about obsession, about being controlled, compelled, even while knowing your only chance to escape involves making something die...glad you enjoyed it.
And many thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and impressions. Your feedback is always greatly appreciated.
This is a fantastic narrative poem. It really captures the imagination. Great job!
ReplyDeleteFantastic write...love the images, the elusive beast of the hunt...the chase always the chase....bkm
ReplyDelete