National Poetry Month: "The Iron Shoes" by Johnny Clewell

April is National Poetry Month.  isiscaughey  has been posting poems occasionally in celebration of this month, and I have decided to shamelessly rip off this idea.  The result is more poetry being enjoyed.  Yay poetry!

Here's one I discovered over at Endicott Studios, a great resource for fairytale-related art and literature where I hung out while writing "Path of Needles."  It's based on a tale called "East of the Sun, West of the Moon."

"The Iron Shoes" by Johnny Clewell

Seven long years I looked for you.
I wore seven pairs of iron shoes.
I ate seven loaves of iron bread.
I climbed seven iron mountains
until I reached this shore.

Here, it is always summer.
Here, the grass is soft underfoot, plums
and peaches fall sweet and ripe
right into our outstretched hands.
We lie at night on sheets edged with lace.

Why is it I cannot sleep?
I lie on the royal pillows,
the wind of your breath rises and falls,
a sliver of moon travels over the hills,
and I wait for sleep to come.

When I dream, I am on that road once more.
I follow a trail of purpose and will,
my legs are strong, and you
my dear are the moon
on the distant horizon.

I know iron. I know its weight. Its taste.
The rise and fall
of black, black hills.
Seven long years I looked for you.
Now I'm lost in this gentle green land.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~


Lovely, eh?  I particularly like the use of repetition and the imagery at the end of the second-to-last stanza.  The original text of the poem (with author biography and a link to an essay about the fairytale this is based on) is here.