Opening at number one this weekend, and doing solid business overseas, despite a slightly rocky production, Darren Aronofsky‘s “Noah” looks like it might come out of it okay. Whether or not it reaches the $320 million “Black Swan” notched worldwide remains to been (it doesn’t look likely), this is perhaps the best outcome anyone could’ve asked for, with a take on the Bible story that is more about the burden of failing God, and his palpable absence in times of need, rather than gathering animals for the flood. Yeah, it’s a bit heavy but it’s also something the director has been thinking about for a long time.
Variety reveals that back in seventh grade, Aronofsky wrote “The Dove,” a poem that used the story of Noah to talk about peace. His teacher, Vera Fried, entered the work into a local writing contest, where it won a prize and Aronofsky’s love of the medium: “She inspired me in the seventh grade to become a writer,” Aronfosky said. “She said, when you write your first book, dedicate it to me.” And he did, with her name inscribed in the “Noah” coffee table book, in addition to being given a couple cameo roles in the film.
As for the poem, Aronofsky has hung onto it all these years, and you can read it below, followed by a clip from “Noah.”
The Dove
A Poem by Darren Aronofsky
January 13, 1982
Evil was in the world
The laughing crowd
Left the foolish man at his ark
Filled with animals
When the rain began to fall
It was hopeless
The man could not take the evil crowd with him
But he was allowed to bring his good family.
The rain continued through the night
And the cries of screaming men filled the air
The ark was afloat
Until the dove returned with the leaf
Evil still existed.
When the rainbows reached throughout the sky
The humble man and his family knew what it meant
The animals ran and flew freely with their newborn
The fog rose and the sun shone
Peace was in the air
And it soon appeared in all of man’s heart.
He knew evil would not be kept away
For evil and war could not be destroyed
But neither was it possible to destroy peace
Evil is hard to end and peace is hard to begin
But the rainbow and the dove will always live
Within every man’s heart.