Noah Inspiration: The Dove (1982) – A Poem by Darren Aronofsky
If the auteur theory has taught us anything it’s that for certain directors the storytelling process can get very personal. Many people have wondered why a critically acclaimed director like Darren Aronofsky would be interested in making Noah, a Bible epic. It turns out that the Jewish director was always fascinated with the story. In fact he wrote a poem about it in seventh grade, which won him a United Nations competition. The assignment was to write a poem about peace. 13-year-old Darren basically wrote his own interpretation of the Bible story, which he then went on to adapt into a $125 million film.
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.
black is white 
This poem is quite beautiful. I like that it isn’t saccharine or overly positive, but it’s just honest. I also find it really interesting that he’s been thinking about the story for so long!
Absolutely agree, that adds a whole new level of enjoyment for me, because it feels more authentic.
I’m impressed you found out about this! Definitely cool that he’s been ruminating on this for so long.
Thanks, but I actually just found the poem on another blog and they had found it on Variety and Variety found it because it’s Variety 🙂