You continue to inspire me
One among your die-hard fans
Across the world still in turmoil.
You drove an ambulance during the
World war I and got wounded,
You were always there leading
From the front be it Paris or Madrid
You hunted and fished and boxed
Bullfighting was another passion
That provided insights into the
Game of life and death for him
The man who saw the wars and climbed hills
Did the safari and talked of a code of conduct,
And committed suicide, when fed up with life,
And became known as Papa Hemingway to others,
Giving succour and hope in the face of ugliness
And a world brutalized by the power-hungry.
He tells us there is no gap between his beliefs and
Daily conduct, thus making his work truly authentic.
A laudable poetic synopsis of the great writer’s life. I am left to wonder whether the familiar ” You ” might have added something toward the end of the poem ? For example , ” life and death for you ” ,” You tell us there is no gap between your beliefs..” , ” thus making your work..”
Thanks Louis. It captures the way Hemingway speaks to a reader.
Lovely poem, so very touching….reminds me of his novel,’The old man and the sea.’
Thanks a lot dear poet Pramila for your kind comment.
Very unique style of writing this is. Also tells me some stuff that I didn’t know about him in a very succinct way. As Louis mentioned earlier, the poem begins referring to him as ‘you’ but laters refers to him in 3rd person as ‘he/him’. Not sure if the transition is needed. Second person could’ve given it a more personal appeal, I guess.
The point is well taken though. 🙂
Thanks Kamlesh for stopping by and reading it with critical interest. Grateful!
Regarding the transition, I have already written above. At some early stage of life, a writer speaks intimately to the reader and after sometime, passage of time, the influence is more deep and pervasive and later on, memory makes the self-same writer a distant figure with a voice that continues to haunt for the rest of life, like a remembered parent that you love, despite distance and death. The space between you and he captures that feeling in general.
as usual a great treat for the reader
Thanks Sarala.