Deep in the forest there is a pond, small, shaded by a pine so tall its shadow crosses her surface. The water is cold and dark and clear, let it preserve those who lie at the bottom invisible to us in perpetual dark. It is our heaven, this bottomless water that will keep us forever still; though hands might barely touch they'll never wander up an arm in caress or lift a drink; we'll lie with the swords and bones of our fathers on a bed of silt and pine needles. In our night we'll wait for those who walk the green and turning earth, our brothers, even the birds and deer, who always float down to us with alarmed and startled eyes. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VARIATIONS: 11 by CONRAD AIKEN SONG: SO OFTEN, SO LONG I HAVE THOUGHT by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE SITTING by CECIL DAY LEWIS HOMING BRAVES by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON TO JOHN BROWN by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SUGGESTED BY THE COVER OF A VOLUME OF KEATS'S POEMS by AMY LOWELL |