The Spectre of Time
Below is a poem I penned in my final year of high school and appeared in the 1977 school year book.
In 2007 I sent my poem to International Open Poetry Contest and I ended up as a semifinalist!
I was quite surprised as I did not think the poem was THAT good!
I did not follow through and purchase a copy of Immortal Verses , so I am not sure if it was ever published.
The reason I am posting it in this blog is that I think we can all relate to the subject of time in an office job where we are always racing the clock....but at WA there is no need to race the clock because your success is determined by yourself, not some stats minded tyrant of a boss looking over your shoulder demanding some or other report/spreadsheet/ etc etc!
P.S.I have included two comments the organisation that I sent my poem to.
TIME
Time:
the all-consuming phantom
that ravages the spectrum of day and night,
crawling endlessly,
inexorably,
it ghosts through the twilight of life.
Time speeds up and myriads of rabbits
strive witlessly
to beat its sudden rush.
Inching across the walls of a prison,
torturously,
agonisingly slowly,
watched by the trapped inmate
Time;
ticks treacherously through happy moments,
bringing then to an all-too-soon-end.
Institutions of today are ruled entirely by that
intangible,
irrational spectre,
Time.
Anthony Metcalf 1977
Dear Anthony,
Several weeks ago, we informed you by mail that our editors have certified your poem "Time" as a semi-finalist in our International Open Poetry Contest. I'm writing to remind you that your poem will automatically be entered into the final competition held in Fall 2007.
P.S. Anthony, you should be genuinely proud of your accomplishment. You have been selected to participate in this very special edition because of your unique vision. It is our pleasure to publish fine poetry such as yours in this historic volume. And, if you decide to order Immortal Verses, we are so certain that you will love the quality of the edition and the way your poetry is presented, we can proudly offer an unconditional guarantee. If for any reason you are dissatisfied, your money will be promptly refunded.
Recent Comments
14
It is very cleverly worded enjoyed it and it can relate to many people in different spheres of life .. well done enjoyed it
It's a great achievement to be proud of! It's a shame you never found out if it was published. Even just to know for yourself that it's out there.
Anthony, I enjoyed your poem. Deep, insightful and thought provoking. So here's the deal. There are times in our lives when time just crawls by and there are times when it flies at the speed of light. People who are facing long, boring events (going to "work" or sitting in a hospital waiting room or a prison cell) sit and wait for time to crawl slowly by. Others who have the opportunity to be doing something with their lives have the problem of there not being enough time to get things accomplished. I'm so deep into this area (not being enough time) that I'm getting frustrated. There is so much to do!! Over a quarter of 2014 is already behind us! So, here's the interesting paradigm: how we look at time is the exact inverse of how time will be applicable in our lives. Just a logical conclusion from you poem and my lives experiences. Keep up the good work!!! Phil
Yeah a rather sombre rendition on Time, fleeting from the rabbits to the inmate, this is timeless and I enjoy your blogging!
Anthony aka Scorpio a poet? Who knew! Well done, hard to believe you wrote it in high school. Do you still write poetry today?
I had a collection of poems but somewhere along the line it got lost.I have one more poem about the futility of war.
That's a shame having lost your collection. I have scanned, to my computer, writings that I wish to keep with me always. If you had the talent then, it is still in you. You could create a new collection. :)
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Thank you