Continuum

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** Continuum ** ** by Allen Curnow ** **** The Poem **** 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 it’s part the night sky empties the whole of it’s contents down. Turn on a bare heel, close the door behind

on the author, cringing demiurge, who picks up his litter and his tools and paces me back to bed, stealthily in step.





[] – includes audio of poem 1. What is a continuum? 2. What is the role of the moon traditionally in literature? And in the poem? 3. Look at the first image in the poem: ‘The moon rolls over the roof and falls behind my house’ What is the poet describing? He then asserts: ...the moon does neither of these things, I am talking about myself’ What comparison is he making between the moon’s movement and his abilities as a poet? What point do you think he is making about being a poet here and where inspiration comes from? 4. What does the poet do when he cannot sleep? Do you think he is trying to avoid thinking / writing or something else? 5. Explore the description of nature in the poem. What do the clouds and wind represent for him? 6. Explore the references to time in the poem. 7. What reminds him of where he is? 8. Stanza six is ambiguous. In what ways could the ‘chill of the planking’ rise and the ‘night sky’ empty ‘its contents down’? 9. What does he do in the final stanza? What image of the poet is created here? Extension Question: ‘All poems are rash acts’. To what extent would you say this is reflected in the poem //Continuum//?
 * How to approach the poem**