.
The lights that shine from streets and cities
block out all the stars at night.
The dim lights of our partial science
block out everything that’s wise.
These lights don’t triumph by their brightness,
but through sheer proximity.
We don’t prefer them for their beauty,
but for plain utility.
.
.
Dan Davis lives in Southeast Michigan working as a financial professional.
Thank you, Paul, for this exceptionally fun way to start the day! Dr. Seuss is on my (very long) list…
Joseph - I especially liked "Advice...", it brought back memories of illicit smokes! But didn't all the good makers flee…
Thank you, Joseph. That last line was the most difficult to translate, as it speaks literally of where the poet…
Thank you for your comments, Margaret. There still is a market for cigars, but it is now very upscale and…
Your period piece on cigars, Joe, brings to mind the era just previous, when I entered first grade in a…
Just brilliant, Dan. The pairing of city lights with lights that come from “partial science” is a surprise to begin with, but these two seeming “unlikes” are perceptively allied and analyzed in the latter half of the poem. And the meter is deftly handled by recognizing that any unstressed syllable ending a line may be followed by a stress to begin the next. Thus you achieve a logical sort of rhyme with repetitions of “block” and “but.” There is, as well, a songlike music of long “i” sounds in the first five lines, that ceases appropriately after the first “but.” Very well done!
Your praise is as good a teacher as any critique! Thank you for your kind words and your analysis, I will be sure to retain these things and grow in them.
Just like marveling at the wonder of the Grand Canyon, we have the millions of years of patient erosion to thank for the sight.
It took a couple of reads to get there, Dan. Perhaps a line break after the first four lines would help the reader.
Thanks for the read.
Paul, I agree. A line break after line 4 would be the perfect touch.
I appreciate the feedback, and I agree, a line break is fitting.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is a nice short and sweet poem, that packs quite a punch, making a statement (or at least that I see) about art versus science and beauty versus utility. I am also encouraged to see that a man with a career as steeped in practicality as finance is able to discern and express these ideas.