Stranger, Stranger, stranding and standing by the shore and facing a land you didn’t for.
You survived a shipwreck, wretched and trekking on forgotten sands against your reckoning.
The dwellers received you as a family with smiles as you learnt their dialect and simile seemingly.
Your hunting and inventing skills drew a crew of attention and admiration of your good retention.
You hit a trajectory of zero to a hero that at a point, a little boy nicknamed you Pharoah.
Night feasts with the king always gleamed your eyes after killing wild beasts of the east.
Till dreams of a beloved kept streaming in your sleep in frequence.
Stranger, Stranger, stranding and reprimanding to the reality beating you in sequence.
Rains of time slowly turned your beard to grey as you built yourself a wooden boat.
To flee and refrain from staying in a land that you spent your prime of strength.
But now to this length, regarded as a legend, you longed for a dream with a faith of not accepting your current fate.
As you paved your invention forward from ashore, dwellers were waving that wherever you go, life will be in good saving.
Poet of the Winter · page 14 · Hear it on the channel ↗
Commentary
This poem, Stranger Stranding, is a beautifully woven narrative about survival, transformation, and the enduring pull of one's dreams. It captures the emotional and philosophical essence of being uprooted, adapting, and ultimately longing for something beyond comfort and acclaim..
The poem follows a protagonist—a stranger—who finds himself stranded on an unfamiliar shore after surviving a shipwreck. Initially a wanderer, he integrated into the new land, learning the customs and language of the dwellers who welcome them. Over time, his hunting and inventive skills earn admiration, propelling him from obscurity to honor, even earning the nickname "Pharaoh" from a young admirer.
Despite feasting with royalty and being celebrated, the stranger remains haunted by dreams of a distant beloved. As time passes, marked by the greying of his beard, he resolved to leave and build a wooden boat to escape. The villagers, now seeing him as a legend, bid them farewell with warm wishes, highlighting that wherever he journey, he will carry the blessings of the life he shaped.