The moon rolls over the roof and falls behind my house, and the moon does neither of these things, I am talking about myself.

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2 The moon rolls over the roof and falls behind my house, and the moon does neither of these things, I am talking about myself. It s not possible to get off to sleep or the subject or the planet, nor to think thoughts. Better barefoot it out the front door and lean from the porch across the privets and the palms into the washed-out creation, a dark place with two particular bright clouds dusted (query) by the moon, one s mine the other s an adversary, which may depend on the wind, or something. A long moment stretches, the next one is not on time. Not unaccountably the chill of the planking underfoot rises in the throat, for its part the night sky empties the whole of its contents down. Turn on a bare heel, close the door behind on the author, cringing demiurge, who picks up his litter and his tools paces me back to bed, stealthily in step.

3 The moon rolls over the roof and falls behind My house, and the moon does neither of these things, I am talking about myself. The moon roll[ing] over the roof and fall[ing] behind his house symbolises the non-ceasing march of time as he tries, in vain, to get to sleep. The word rolls is a soft word The line I am talking about myself shows this stanza is symbolising the time passing in his own life.

4 It s not possible to get off to sleep or The subject or the planet, nor to think thoughts. Better barefoot it out the front Getting off the subject refers to not being able to sleep, on account of having thoughts that prevent you from sleeping. Getting off the planet refers to his need to break his routines on the planet. To think thoughts is talking about him being overtired and not being able to think straight.

5 better barefoot it out the front door and lean from the porch across the privets and the palms into the washed-out creation, a dark place with two particular Privets; Any of various shrubs and small trees. He is talking about going to a calm place where he can think straight. imagery of him holding his head in his hands, in this cold, dark, calm place Washed-out creation is talking of life s repetition and how everything seems washed out and lacking colour.

6 a dark place with two particular bright clouds dusted (query) by the moon, one s mine the other s an adversary, which may depend on the wind, or something. Adversary; foe or enemy, conflict of beliefs. These two clouds seem to stand out with a bright light of hope, light from the moon. One of these clouds represents himself and the other, one of his foes. This standing out in the black sky depicts some battle between himself and a foe. May depend on the wind, or something says that he is secondguessing himself.

7 A long moment stretches, the next one is not on time. Not unaccountably the chill of the planking underfoot rises He is lost in thought for quite some time and forgets how much time has passed. He starts to snap out of his daze, from the moments passing to feeling the chill of the planking.

8 the planking underfoot rises in the throat, for its part the night sky empties the whole of its contents down. Turn on a bare heel, close the door behind The night sky emptying its contents down refers to all of his thoughts about the sky and what it represents fading away as he drifts back into consciousness.

9 heel, close the door behind on the author, cringing demiurge, who picks up his litter and his tools paces me back to bed, stealthily in step. The closing the door behind on the author is his way of shutting out the part of him which was authoring these creative thoughts. The word demiurge is a Greek term, coined by Plato who suggested it was a secondary deity, or a creative spirit who made the world. This suggests Curnow has in some way created his reality.

10 Structure The moon rolls over the roof and falls behind My house, and the moon does neither of these things, I am talking about myself. It s not possible to get off to sleep or The subject or the planet, nor to think thoughts. Better barefoot it out the front door and lean from the porch across the privets and the palms into the washed-out creation, a dark place with two particular bright clouds dusted (query) by the moon, one s mine the other s an adversary, which may depend on the wind, or something. A long moment stretches, the next one is not on time. Not unaccountably the chill of the planking underfoot rises The poem is free verse without any notable rhyme scheme. There is extreme use of enjambment, many of which continue onto the next stanza. These are used to emphasise the ideas contained each individual the stanza. Each stanza is separated into three lines. in the throat, for its part the night sky empties the whole of its contents down. Turn on a bare heel, close the door behind on the author, cringing demiurge, who picks up his litter and his tools paces me back to bed, stealthily in step.

11 Points Of Discussion What is the significance of the (query) in stanza four? Why does he refer to himself as a cringing demiurge