Sunday 31 January 2021

Why you won't find a poem here today

 



Sometimes a dove will sit on the railing

and swivel its head, very canny, very wise -

late afternoon and the light’s quietly failing

but something breath taking happens to the skies.

A high rigged truck will come around trailing

its discordant sounds topped by pneumatic sighs

and leave a fluorescent silence where words die

drop out defeated however hard they try.

 

Ordinary events of urban landscapes -

a flash of coloured scarf, a certain note

of moonlight and the changing shadow shapes.

The calligraphic wakes of a speedboat

mirrored by migrant flamingos as they fly.

Sometimes the words just won’t fit - that’s why.




16 comments:

  1. The words won't fly?
    You are a stranger to the truth.
    These arrowed their way directly to my heart.

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  2. Hari OM
    I second EC's response!!! YAM xx

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  3. Fluorescent silence - now that's descriptive!

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    1. What I wanted to say was like a disco in between pieces of music...glad you liked the description..

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  4. I re-read this a few times, each gives more layers and I hear different sounds or sighs, and then maybe the dove coos....
    Lovely

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    1. Silence is never really 100% silent, is it? So many different sounds go into the making of it. Pleased you enjoyed the poem.

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  5. Nila, your words do indeed fly right to my heart. Thank you.

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    1. That makes me think of humming birds for some reason! Great to see you here, Denise.

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  6. And yet those words keep coming. Disjointed and yet perfectly aligned! I love what you create!

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    1. They do, whether one likes or not, out of control!

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  7. But they did fit! It had a rhythm all its own. Thanks for the experience.

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    1. Glad you think so! Thanks, great to see you here.

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  8. Hi Nila - always a delight to read ... so much inferred, so much to think about ... 'discordant sounds topped by pneumatic sighs' - beautiful sounds of birdsong ... overwrought pandemic sighs ... just desperate times. I feel for all ... but am so thankful I breathe easily ... I'm a lucky person in this discombobulated world. Definitely not as discombobulated as it was - let's hope we have hope in this world. All the best - Hilary

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    Replies
    1. Discombobulate is such a weighty and delightfully descriptive word! I'm so pleased you are not being positive and hopeful...stay safe, stay lucky, wishing you serenity and good health.

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