Thursday 1 December 2016

Slip





The details slip, how blue the sky, how white
the foam, how high the waves rode in the sea,
rough or tranquil – and its exact degree.
The sharpness of the moment and its insight.


The image slips, whole edges blur with age,
some colours rub off, some fade’s added in,
things once intense and profound slowly thin,
covers wear, silverfish damage the page.


The hours slip, while I panic and clutch
at that elusive word, picturesque phrase
must nail it down, stick it in, or the haze
will take it all beyond reach, beyond touch.


And yet it slips, fast and slow, part by part
nothing is safe in the brain or the heart.



Have I told you about the final year-end challenge over at Write...Edit...Publish...? Sign up's today, post on or before 21st.  Off to start on my piece. Join in for an interesting, imaginative prompt and of course the gorgeous badges...






16 comments:

  1. ' And yet it slips, fast and slow, part by part
    nothing is safe in the brain or the heart.'
    How I wish you were wrong. Knowing you are not, I still wish it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, me too. Even the good ones fade. Especially the good ones.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Nothing is safe - not in my brain, the heart does a better job, but all flesh is weak...

      Delete
  3. You did an excellent job composing this sonnet

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Still not iambic enough I think, but never mind :)

      Delete
  4. "nothing is safe in the brain or the heart."
    So true, so true, and it's what is making me blue!

    I've actually got my WEP story written. Woke up one morning and there it was. Love when that happens!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So cool! You make me envious, Yolanda! I on the other hand have no clue as usual...but something will turn up eventually...hopefully... :-)

      Delete
  5. Hi Nila - nothing is safe ... life just turns with nothing static or secure ... so true ... slip, slipping by ...

    Good luck with the WEP "Utopian Dreams" challenge ... I will think on ... and it might not slip out of my mind! Cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, am marking the calendar - mustn't let WEP slip! see you there on 21st! :)

      Delete
  6. you captured that "reach out and try to grasp" feeling. Or is it gasp....either way, well done

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gasp is manageable...I can do that...grasp, now that's hard! :)

      Delete
  7. Beautiful. Evocative. And especially poignant for me right now, thinking about my mother, who in two days will turn 94. We're all slipping away, but it's usually so gradual that we fail to notice. Thank you for limning this feeling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Constant mindfulness is the only defence, but so hard to achieve. Best wishes to your mother!

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. Yes, and even when fresh there's no guarantee what you've got is really accurate...it's fading even as it's being made, a little scary that...

      Delete