Heart At Bay

Cast Your Vote!

There are two versions of this poem here. The first one is my original piece and the second one is a shortened version based on feedback from a poetry workshop. I'd love to here your vote for which you prefer (original or shortened) and, if inclined, your reason for the preference. You can use the comments section below to offer your input.

Yours is the face
that launches my ship,
the siren that sings away my reason,
calling me out to the shipwrecked shores
and the promise of lost treasures
that have taken the lives
of those better than me.

I hold my heart at bay,
anchored in a secret cove,
as if I can keep it from you,
while we walk the city streets
and every neon sign declares my love.

In Greek mythology, the sirens were beautiful and dangerous creatures whose enchanting songs and music lured sailors to shipwreck on the rocky shores of their islands. They're portrayed in the Odyssey when the cunning Odysseus, longing to hear their songs, straps himself to the mast of his ship while his shipmates stopped their ears with wax.  He was tortured with desire as they sailed through the straits, but his crew kept to their promise and did not let him free, allowing the ship to pass unharmed.

Here I am: body and breath,
held captive in a self-imposed prison
of age and ethics, the wolf man
who locks himself up for fear
of the harm he may cause.

And I give you the key,
begging you to use it,
to open the barred gate,
to rush into this den
where we become
the moon and stars
and all things that run wild
in the night

We each have a wild nature, a part we learn to lock up in order to get by in the world, and to keep our heart anchored and at bay. We also have our struggles in life, those times when temptation comes, calling out our wild side, and we must choose between the life we have carefully crafted and one that skirts the rocky shores where ships wreck and life, as we know it, may change forever...

You may notice the same wolfman theme in the previous poem, The Poets, although there is a 14 year gap between them!

What tempts you?
How do you respond when the siren's song
steers you toward dangerous seas
that could change your life forever in an instant?

while also pleading with you
to turn away so that I can
awaken tomorrow,
my life unchanged,
my gray world
welcoming me back
with a pat on the back,
and saying to me,
once again “good boy."

(Shortened Version)

Yours is the face
that launches my ship,
the siren that sings away my reason.
I hold my heart at bay,
anchored in a secret cove,
as if I can keep it from you.

Poem and Recital © Nick LeForce
All Rights Reserved

Here I am: body and breath,
held captive in a self-imposed prison
and I give you the key, begging you
to use it to open the barred gate,
to rush into this den where we become
the moon and stars and all things
that run wild in the night;

while also pleading with you
to turn away so that I can
awaken tomorrow,
my life unchanged,
my gray world
welcoming me back
with a pat on the back,
and saying to me,
once again “good boy." 

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