Sunday 27 January 2019

On being sent a photo of a Nepali woman baking clay pots



Clay’s useful only when it’s hollowed out,
fired in unbearable kilns and hardened;
the base level, the shape even throughout,
but it’s fragile still, it'll crack in the end.
The potter breaks, though later than the pot,
and once they’ve broken - difficult to mend -
they could be stuck back, sure, but you cannot
unsee the cracks, the fault lines that’ve opened.



Slowly getting back on track, onward with the teeny-tiny and long titles. Or maybe I should have just called it 'Crackpot' :) 

Will be round to catch up on the reading soon.  Can't believe January's nearly over! Hope 2019 is treating you well.









13 comments:

  1. Some pots last infinitely longer than the potter. Which I find simultaneously sad and inspirational. A small piece of a person carried forward.

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    1. True that! Centuries old pots and pans in the museums...pottery marks out history, both individual and entire cultures.

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  2. Hi Nila - it's amazing how wonderful creations can last ... pottery from clay, bricks from clay ... as you comment to EC pottery marks out our history ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Yup, pottery actually gives its name to entire civilisations - red and black ware culture, grey ware culture...Pottery, and also rivers characterise much of prehistory...

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  3. Think of all the ancient pottery that's been dug up that far outlasted its maker.

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    1. Absolutely - potshards are the first evidence of a settlement that archaeologists look for.

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  4. clay is fragile, as are the creators. Good poem. Welcome back slowly. 2019 is moving along. Staying healthy is the key. Take care

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    1. Thanks, Joanne. 2019 made some unexpected moves on me! :) But as you say staying healthy is the main thing...Wish you and yours the wealth of good health. Stay well.

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  5. Not sure why this appealed to me so much, but it did!

    I love the long titles, by the way. (But if you ever do want to use a title like "Crackpot," maybe you could save it in case you ever decide to do a political post about the USA's President Trump.)

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    1. I have to put in my 2 cents - this "cracked" me up. Crackpot is brilliant in regards to the Prez.

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    2. Hey David and Joanne - don't go thinking USA has a monopoly on crackpot leaders/politicians, we have 'em too back where I come from. In fact, quite a collection of them and far wider 'cracks' in their 'pots' for sure. Eminently displayable. :) I don't normally do political posts/poetry here (hmm...is that a good or a bad thing?), but definitely filing away your suggestion for future use, thanks! :)
      Jokes apart, very glad the shutdown is over. Wishing all crackpot leaders out of office soonest and banished to a happy place of minimal influence.

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    3. I rarely do political posts, either. But a month ago, I couldn't resist writing this one.

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    4. Reading yours, I could be moved to do one too - who knows?

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