sucked back in to the drum of the washer
my words neatly folded into crisp edges and hospital corners
before being tucked into my back pocket
with only day old tissues and a discarded ticket stub to befriend
and here I am again, rifling through the loose change
in search of my lost days, trying to figure out why
the battering ram still nudges at my door
and why I let lost lines creep so easily out the back
at least the sun is shining and the air is warm
the bubbles in my glass crackle gently
like the tension popping through my spine
and I swallow it down, because when all is said and done
what else can I do but lay low back here
on the grassy banks of time, my only alternative
to ride pillion into the thunder clouds
clinging on as I wait for the wheels to come off
*****************************************************************************
Written for dVerse Poets Open Link Night which tonight begins its second year of celebrating poetry and poets.
Very nice.
Thanks Emmett. Lovely to see you back here. I’m a bit rusty so I am off to do the blog rounds now and see if I can pick up some inspiration… hope to read you out there!
whew…crazy hectic life eh…and sometimes hiding away to get that me time is the best that we can get…and hope for…just to breathe….good to see you ma’am…
Good to be back mister xx
That’s a wonderful little poem …..’my only alternative/to ride pillion into the thunder clouds’ ……I know the point and sometimes don’t you just want to ..against better judgement …
Hello stranger, it’s been a while since you’ve visited… and since I’ve visited you I confess, but I shall be sure to rectify that in a little while. Thanks for your kind comment.
Hi there … been away for a while ..down to Avignon and Arles for some r&r so only just back in the loop myself – but great to be here again
Sounds lovely, great to have you back.
Love this totally …. So many ways this could be read into. It could just be life’s craziness….the battering ram at the door could be a postman delivering news….the lines out the back door could have been words you wished you’d used….it could just simply be about taking some time, some respite….(god- I KNOW this)….but I love how it made me think…and I love the textures you’ve weaves into it (the crackling bubbles in the glass for example)…. You are very talented Vanessa- and you don’t have to respond to that- although I do enjoy your sarcastic slant….(weirdo) ….another fine fine poem
Double weirdo… (shhh, thank you)
Wonderful and thank you for introducing me to pillion, I love learning new words.
Well you could knock me down with a feather right about now… me, teaching you a new word?! Never in a million years! If you don’t know the word, then I am not sure its a word worth knowing sweet lady
) Bless you Anna xx
Haha, well, it’s true, you taught me
.
You taught Anna a new word!! Holy crap!
Great poem, Vanessa. I really like the way you put things together! Awesome!
I know right?! I think I can hang up my thinking cap now and quit, my work here is done LOL. Thanks Charles, lovely to have you back, will be over to read you shortly.
Be sure and check out the audio version!
I really liked how this is one long thought sans punctuation, almost as if it was a long exhale. Wonderful.
It kind of was… or maybe that was the glass of bubbles I had in hand whilst writing it… and reeeelaaax Thank you x
wonderful write really great!
Hello lovely Len, and thank you x
Excellent piece
Nick
Cheers my dear.
Loved ‘rifling through the loose change in search of my lost days’ – wonderful imagery. K
“and I swallow it down, because when all is said and done
what else can I do but lay low back here
on the grassy banks of time, my only alternative
to ride pillion into the thunder clouds”
No, no, do not go out of control, take instead that lying low. “Being low” is also a Quaker phrase for waiting on God rather than rushing forward with our own agenda . . . I love that it is an option in this hectic life you know.
this is just fabulous… i can so relate to every word. the poetry of life, it’s all right here.
Love the small details of crinkled ticket stubs and day-old tissues mixing in with words, those touches of the poetic. And, oh, I was reading your discussion, and funnily enough, I have a poem called “Pillion” – it’s about first love and a motorcycle.
Thank you so much for taking us, from the honest reflection of chores (as I right, neat piles of fresh laundry lie behind me) to the bubbles cracking gently in your glass.
Glad you’ve taken the positive approach, it is the higher road : )
Tucking words into your back pocket like tissue always seem to come out mangled in the wash. Left with shards and the fate of time you have well with the chaos of life. Time has never been friendly.
i like your imagery here much..and heck yeah…life can get so crazy that we’re wondering how we manage to live it..
really enjoyed the last few lines;
“what else can I do but lay low back here
on the grassy banks of time, my only alternative
to ride pillion into the thunder clouds
clinging on as I wait for the wheels to come off”
Captured the madness of life well!
Well I also learned a new word…I like the searching for the lost days ~
http://everydayamazin.blogspot.ca/2012/07/my-journey.html
I absolutely LOVE this………….. I sometimes walk to clear my head, but am absolutely convinced that my hair’s on fire! Beautiful work, Vanessa. ~ Much love, Bobbie
I really liked this piece.
“my words neatly folded into crisp edges and hospital corners” and
“to ride pillion into the thunder clouds
clinging on as I wait for the wheels to come off” Nice!
Aw thanks, really pleased you liked it.
Now, that’s terrific! Hectic, pessimistic, modern….
Very very flattered that you think so.
This is an outstanding piece. The verse has a shadow side, which is illustrated masterfully. The painting is mesmerizing, as the hair is everywhere, but in it’s sprawling design, it can appear to become a shadow, and then at closer look, that shadow appears to be engulfing the person, which can then be used to represent the idea of the self. Outstanding piece on many fronts. Great read.
Thank you so much. I’m so glad you commented on the painting as well as the piece, I love it, I mean really really love it (sadly not my work, I’m no painter that’s for sure!). What a lovely comment, much appreciated.
I loved it all, but those last lines hit me hard. I guess on some level we all wait for those wheels to fall off, and then the ride really begins.
So well done.