The Palace at 4 a.m.

I specially like the title. To me, it does something special for the whole poem. Why a palace? 

Why, indeed. Whoever is awake in the palace has dreams associated with wealth: things which are ‘prodigious’ (marvellous) and ‘prodigal’ (lavish), things with ‘prospects’ (which we associate not only with outlook but also with prospecting for gold) and ‘a richer life’. Yet all these ideas are ‘reined in’. They remain ‘unlived’. So there is an interesting sense that the person dreaming in the palace perhaps sees ‘a richer life’ somewhat differently from the average reader. Or perhaps the richness of the dreams makes the sleeper’s home temporarily a palace? It’s a bit of a mystery—and this appeals to me. 

But I like other things too. I like the metaphor of the long narratives galloping past—in fact, for once I think this is a poem which thrives on mixed metaphor. And I like the fun the poet is having with language—the list of things lost, and the way the second line opens a long, rich sentence which runs gloriously right through to the very end of the poem.

Helena Nelson