Monday 30 May 2016

Pegs. Panic. Patience.




I. 

I’m back to drinking half latte, and panic
gulped down in the first moments as I wake;
because the room’s vast and far too empty,
because on the floor patches of sunlight break
into shards without a sound. I grope lyrics
like lifelines, the chords that grounded you and me;
the clock twitches, the wall behind it aches
and the universe’s just another tic.

The sonnet’s handiwork hangs a bit awry -
the peg’s loose, or maybe the fault’s in my eye.
The coffee’s a whirlpool, a muddy vortex
that, at the very start, sucks the day dry
and hides its gift somewhere under the dregs.
I drain the cup. But nothing tightens the pegs.


II.

I also know you’ll return here in days,
the distance between us duly shortened,
the room warmed, its emptiness made richer.
All travel-sore wandering must end -
we each loop back even as we step away;
the river herself finds and lets us bridge her,
each crossing however rough, does unbend
and let us through, barring minor delays.


It’s easily written: destiny, it’s fate;
the reward will come, just be patient and wait.
Patience will somehow wrangle its rewards.
What if it doesn’t? or it comes too late?
what if it panics at the shortfall of words?
The peg’s still loose though I hammered it hard.




15 comments:

  1. Poignant and lovely.
    My pegs often don't seem the fit the holes I try and pound them into...

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    1. Haha, mine are the same, default mode of pegs...maybe I pound them into holes that don't even exist except in my imagination :)

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  2. Is there a story behind this, Nila? I got ambivalence about the outcomes. Especially loved your imagery:

    "the clock twitches, the wall behind it aches..." Oh, my!

    Denise :-)

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    1. Hi Denise,

      'My story is just a series of attempts
      to find a balance between panicked and patient' :)

      Glad you liked the imagery.

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  3. Hi Nila - I love how you weave ideas together ... the peg that needy and most needed tool to steady us. Sometimes we need to be patient before we can set off, and let go ... and if we're not careful panic could so easily set in. The stay is held til we feel confident enough to leave the peg behind ... cheers Hilary

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    Replies
    1. That's something cool to think on. The pegs need us as much as we need them..

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  4. Very nice - especially loved the last para.

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  5. interesting word choices and concept of the pegs. this made me think, as so often your poems do. Very well done

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  6. Thanks Dahlia and Joanne. Glad you liked the poetry. One gets used to pegs being where they are, position changes can be surprising.

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  7. Weavings of imaginations. Nicely done. Thank you for this

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  8. "the reward will come, just be patient and wait"
    That is a mighty big expectation when it comes to me, but then again, what other choice is there. :)
    Love it, Nila, hit the nail on the head!

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