Distant shadows,
Traveling into the absence of light.
Illuminating a pathway of sorrow,
Imagining the beauty of Helen’s sight.
Diving into the abyss,
Searching for lost remains.
Encountering a series of melancholic words,
Reliving one's past fate.
Salvaging sunken letters,
Written in Cephalopod ink.
Subsiding into Davy Jones' locker,
In quest of the skeleton key.
Pursuing the Sirens voice,
Inducing a tidal wave.
Awakening to disillusion,
Anchoring hope to reality once again.
By: Michael M. De La Fuente
The Skeleton Key is a symbolic interpretation of a long lost love dreamed about last night. You will find plenty of symbolisms derived from Greek Mythology and metaphoric expressions within every line. My interpretation may be seen below for those who wish to follow the original meaning of the poem. Hope you enjoy it. Without further ado:
Distant shadows:
– Glimpsing flashbacks of her pleasant sight
Traveling into the absence of light:
– Nostalgic memories fading into darkness
Illuminating a pathway of sorrow:
– Igniting a yearning desire to be with her once more
Imagining the beauty of Helen’s sight:
– Symbolically comparing her beauty to Helen, the Queen of Laconia, who was considered the most beautiful woman in the world in Greek Mythology
Diving into the abyss:
- Taking a leap of faith into love once again
Searching for lost remains:
- Hoping to rekindle the long lost flame
Encountering a series of melancholic words:
– Finding nothing more than sadness and grief, instilled pain
Reliving one's past fate:
– Undergoing the same heartache once again
Salvaging sunken letters:
– Recollecting the unparalleled memories spent together
Written in Cephalopod ink:
– Metaphorically comparing the pen’s ink to the thick black ink that an octopus ejects to confound attackers. Insinuating that each word was written as a method to escape.
Subsiding into Davy Jones' locker:
– Falling into the realm of darkness; hitting rock bottom
In quest of the skeleton key:
– Symbolically searching for new possibilities to alter the tragic outcome
Pursuing the Sirens voice:
– Metaphorically comparing the enchanting voice of the Sirens from Greek Mythology to the hypnotizing nature of her seductive voice
Inducing a tidal wave:
– Stimulating the reticent heart
Awakening to disillusion:
– Awakening to realize that it was just a lucid dream
Anchoring hope to reality once again:
– Symbolically indicating the conveyance of hope from one realm to another