Night Poem Poem by Margaret Atwood

Night Poem

Rating: 3.7


There is nothing to be afraid of,
it is only the wind
changing to the east, it is only
your father the thunder
your mother the rain

In this country of water
with its beige moon damp as a mushroom,
its drowned stumps and long birds
that swim, where the moss grows
on all sides of the trees
and your shadow is not your shadow
but your reflection,

your true parents disappear
when the curtain covers your door.
We are the others,
the ones from under the lake
who stand silently beside your bed
with our heads of darkness.
We have come to cover you
with red wool,
with our tears and distant whipers.

You rock in the rain's arms
the chilly ark of your sleep,
while we wait, your night
father and mother
with our cold hands and dead flashlight,
knowing we are only
the wavering shadows thrown
by one candle, in this echo
you will hear twenty years later.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
rick lange 09 November 2017

Maybe double check....distant whipers?

4 0 Reply
Mahtab Bangalee 03 December 2020

knowing we are only the wavering shadows thrown by one candle, in this echo you will hear twenty years later. /// this is the poem, night poem, where the child lost the parents in the darkness of night, the child observe all the situation where fathers roaring to mothers tears make distressful the around of child and consequently the child lost the parents in the cruel pit of darkness; (apparently I got it from this poem) greatly poem penned

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Khairul Ahsan 03 December 2020

I agree with rick lange. 'whipers' needs editing. Congratulations on the poem's selection as the 'Modern Poem of the Day'!

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Khairul Ahsan 03 December 2020

I am not sure if I have understood the poem well in its entirety, but some of the lines have indeed touched me and resonate in me. As for example: 'Your shadow is not your shadow but your reflection' 'We have come to cover you with red wool, with our tears and distant whi(s?) pers' 'knowing we are only the wavering shadows thrown by one candle, in this echo you will hear twenty years later'

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Ratnakar Mandlik 03 December 2020

" You rock in the rains arms: . Fantastic conceptualization. A perfect modern song of the Day.

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Dr Antony Theodore 27 January 2020

we are only the wavering shadows thrown by one candle, in this echo you will hear twenty years later. very good poem. tony

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