The Dreamer – A Raisin in the Sun Creative Response
The Dreamer
By Mini Racker
Desire, such a feathery angel,
deserts the sarcophagus of my body.
I believed in the thing that no one sees.
One of water and writhing, I had waited.
One of lace and fire, I withdrew.
The creek tempted me that dwindling summer night,
that last August, when the leaves sung almost inaudibly,
turning the seasons,
and nor’easters dampened the earth
and the lapping of the water tampering with my heartbeat
like moss does with elm roots,
irrevocably, at its own pace.
My legs overhanging the bank, I weep
for the soft plop of the rain on the mud, pearls bursting
with what dignity.
Drops shimmering through the air, I’m
simmering here, simmering like something that never was, that
never will be—What if
I disappeared like the fishes,
burrowing their lips into the riverbed?
Without reverie, there is nothing but the brook and the rocks
And the blurred keening stars.
And some lost dream like time joint back on itself.
And a dim infinity of days ahead, billowing.
This is a finalist in our A Raisin in the Sun Creative Response Contest. From April 17-19 you can visit our Facebook page to vote for this entry to win our grand prize!
lovely.
Gorgeous poem about desire and yearning and the not-quite attained. So moving, those fishes.
Excellently done
Wonderful to see the work of such talented young writers! I enjoyed reading this.
This is a fantastic, moving poem showing a mature intelligence. Emotions transferred beautifully to natural elements make the poem even more evocative and meaningful.
This poem is beautiful. The writer’s use of language is sophisticated and smooth. She has a fine ear for words’ sounds, including assonance, internal rhyme, and other poetic devices, and she is not heavy-handed.
I’d like to put in a vote for this poem as the winner.
This poem is extraordinary. How do I vote for it?
I would like to add a vote for this poem (fantastic!), but I don’t have a Facebook account, so I wasn’t able to. Please let my voice be heard!
This poem responds to the play, and powerfully, but it goes well beyond that too. I especially appreciated the clashing experiences of time. The dreamer waited on and lived for the future, yet the natural world carries on “irrevocably, at its own pace.”
This is a really great poem
I see a winner!! Good poem!
I vote for Mini Racker’s phenomenal poem. The language is rich and provocative.
A youthful vision, an energetic, adult voice