A Poem Lost Poem by John Carter Brown

A Poem Lost

Rating: 4.7


As I lay in my bed, unable to sleep
I composed a good poem I wanted to keep;
It kept going round and around in my head
(I should have been bothered to write it all down)
But decided, by rote, to remember instead.

Once honed, I repeated, lest I should forget
It felt so secure in my mind there, and yet
Time and again I have made this mistake
I should have got up, or at least stayed awake.

In spite of persisting I was not receiving
No matter my anger, there was no retrieving
And so, after all, I now know to my cost
This delicate whisper,
This poem, is lost.

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Exactly what happened a few nights ago - and I'm still annoyed with myself.
-


(Written Oct 2012)
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Inwalked Bud 01 September 2013

aaahhh yes...something that I am sure, many have experienced...but it then in turn led you to this poem, which is quite nice :)

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Gabhriel Londe 10 September 2013

You know we've all had this happen. But you did a good job at producing a poem in the wake of that lost poem. Great write

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Susan Lacovara 11 October 2013

I can relate very well to your poem...so many times a wonderful thought escaped by the mere hesitation of capturing it...pen to paper....well written and so true, for poets alike. Thank you for commenting on my poem In My Mother's Hand...I invite you to explore more of my work, as I will, yours. PEACE

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Claude Simpson 03 November 2013

Wonderful poem, relevant and fitting to many of us as writers. It happened to many writers where many ideas would come by but forgotten. Wise to jot down every thought.

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Kanniappan Kanniappan 19 December 2013

Nice poem. It is always better to be awake and write the poem down on a paper, at least with a few hints.

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Kim Barney 16 December 2015

This has happened to me so many times! It happened again less than a week ago. One of my poems is on this same subject. It's called THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. Reminds me of a writer who had a similar problem. He was always having good ideas in the middle of the night, and in the morning he could remember that he had had a good idea, but couldn't remember what it was. So one night he put a notebook and pencil by his bed and kept telling himself as he was falling asleep: 'Write it down! Write it down! ' In the middle of the night he sat upright in bed, grabbed the notebook and scribbled something in it. The next morning he looked at the notebook to see what he had written. It was 'Write it down! '

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Terence Collings 28 November 2015

I wonder if Keats and Shelley had this problem?

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Mary Forrester 17 August 2014

Nice poem John, I can relate to what you said hahaha.

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Nia Schexnider 15 April 2014

Me too! Sometimes I even think about writing a poem just like this one :)

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Richard Blay 26 March 2014

hahaha... John, it happens to me most; a little sleep, alittle slumber, then all is lost. But it comes back to us in a different form.

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