I felt so inspired by the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock” by T. S. Elliot (a 20th century poet), I wrote a “poetic response” to it:
When the evening is spread out against the sky,
When feelings and emotions are flying high.
Why so intricate and obscure?
When I disturb the universe so vast,
When I feel the seconds racing past.
Why so unexplainable and indescribable?
When I see moments of greatness extinguished,
When I see myself invisible in the eyes of those distinguished.
Why is fairness part of life yet the rain falls on the just and the unjust?
When I hear those disembodied voices in my ear,
When I see those fragile hearts fill with fear.
Is to be brave really to sense fear yet be able to overcome it?
Should I create a new identity or slay an old,
Should I see if the earth is worth its weight in gold?
Should I condense the galaxies and watch the effect,
Or should I measure my life out in coffee spoons and see the grains connect?
Afternoons and coffee spoons,
Yellow fog and midnight moons…
“Do I dare?” Oh how I loved reading the poem the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. This is a really great poetic response to a poem of a man too nervous to experience life.