i’m in the middle of a star wars fight,
laptop on my knees, drinking fennel tea and
feeling slightly independent (it won’t last that long,
so i cherish the illusion) &
keep staring at the creature,
dangling from the window on a golden ribbon,
(they have no ideas how angels look) &
maybe this is fussy but it bothers me,
i watch the angel dangle,
close my eyes, look again and–
in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
i dive into black holes & it’s not easy
to escape– folding month by month
like garments, full of stains,
heavily used and do my best to smooth ‘em,
hide their dirty spots under my hands,
it’s useless–
and the letters falls apart, i try hard
to glue ‘em back together, shift
the words and hold them on the screen with
silver ribbon rests, but there are poems,
way too difficult to write & finally
i let it glide onto the floor,
take a broom & sweep
its tiny particles under the couch,
together with the angel, i cut from the
window frame– may the force
be with you &
maybe, by the season’s end,
someone finds ‘em both but–
it could be too late then
.
no matter which universe you’re from, you’re more than welcome to join us with your poetry at dVerse Poets pub at 3 pm EST…and may the force be with joe hesch who will tend the bar for us tonight..
hahaha if all else fails shove it under the couch, that was my idea too..haha it was never found for a while, by that time the trouble was less.
haha..see – i thought it was a good idea…smiles
some really great lines in this claudia…first, ha we both went star wars this holidays it seems…folding months over each other like garments…nice…and you sweep up letters better than many write them so…smiles…dont be too had on the faux angel…
Right on Brian!
ah, this season of ‘no longer here and not yet there’ – you write my thoughts well…
I love this:
in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
i dive into black holes & it’s not easy
to escape– folding month by month
like garments, full of stains,
and the rest of it… and may the force be with you (as I’m sure it already is)
I like the blending of the star wars fight with the angels…sweeping words under the couch between holiday seasons can be tricky. If we remember to look for them again next year ~
Hope your holidays are full of cheers and peace ~
Hi Claudia, The holidays are like little black holes between the day-to-day workaday stained garments of the rest of it (though black holes also have an ominous ring!) Agree with Brian re your swept up letters which are poems in themselves–they just flow together.
One question (I’m sorry–but I am very literal)–did you mean “may THE force be with you” or “may be force be with you.” I can see it as be, as in “maybe,” which you use next, but I wasn’t sure, and know how these things creep in and out of my sweepings.
K.
thanks karin…meant “the” force…typo…thanks!!
What a whimsical way to end the year…here’s hoping the new year brings just as many wonderful poems from you as the past year.
Ah, Claudia, I have found independence is always an illusion…but, you are right, it is fun sometimes to pretend even for a little while, especially while drinking fennel tea. I like thinking about the space where Christmas ends; and perhaps it is not far from the place where independence ends. For a while we can believe, believe, believe (when we shut our eyes), believe in both!
I appreciate the annual struggle …and usually, USUALLY…there is a moment or two that refreshes
reminds
replaces
sadness and delivers a smile
warmer than the hot tears that often come
I like this as a clever vehicle to address the honesty, without assaulting the senses…Thanks
Peace
there are the greatest of treasures in the dust bins of our lives and what gets swept under the furniture, as you show.
and also with you:)
Claudia, this piece is awesome. I always appreciate how you transcribe the poetry in your life to page, but this piece you take it a whole step farther, as for my take here there is a bunch of weight just there to be dealt with and a philosophy right there at the window sill. Great job. Loved it. Thanks
I think this is my favorite part of the poem:
“in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me”
Excellent write. There must have been a Star Wars prompt somewhere (noting Brian’s poem)
Yup: the ‘Force’ be with–maybe IN–me / us. If angels are, they are. They must be freed, otherwise they cannot help me–even if swept under that couch–grin!
Sincerely, I believe it is YOU who have found those letters, words–all magical. And that angel…so spiritual. And that FORCE–so real! LOVED it, and smiled also. Thank you German-Girl!
PEACE!
Claudia,
There is wonderful and vivid imagery in this poem.
“…to glue ‘em back together, shift
the words and hold them on the screen with
silver ribbon rests, but there are poems,
way too difficult to write & finally
i let it glide onto the floor,
take a broom & sweep…”
I always end up printing your poems for myself and studying them, trying to learn from your genius. Thanks for this one.
A little quote to sum up my holiday spirit:
A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell.
~George Bernard Shaw
Happy New Year,
cj
You gorgeous Claudia never cease to amaze me and for sure every single one who happens to come by
What you make out of a moment is magnificent!
You cherish thos emoments becasue they come and go… and they come and stay because you write them down… and that’s for life
Happy New Year Dear!
What happened to the Like button??
Love this piece, Claudia!
Happy New Year!
Love your words and thoughts … happy New year, my friend … forever and always. love, cat.
ha – tis the season’s end! sweep it under the couch until next time
A great poem to end the year…I love how your poetry just ‘flows’…wonderful. Happy New Year, Claudia
you got me with the title because I went through this Star Wars phase lol and then you go and put it to poetry! Genius! Love how you allow your stream of thought to deliver itself so purely and raw! I admire your gift!
http://magicinthebackyard.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/singing-myself-to-wake/
There are indeed poems too difficult to write–but they often are the ones that get swept under the couch only to become the monsters under the bed (for me anyway)–this is full of a sense of exhaustion, yet also a strangely detached analysis of it and a lot more–that is the true eye that can never stop looking, Claudia, and you have it.
I agree!
reading your work is, for me, such a pleasure…now you add Star Wars to the mix and stir in some deep searching…it MUST be xmas… superb
i visited my fathers friends yesterday, who are from your part of the world…if i said ‘dinner for one’…would that mean anything to you?…we watched it twice…man they love that sketch so much… they say it plays alot… hee hee
i liked it but… boy… they LOVED IT!
all the best to you and your peeps…
cheers Claudia
happy new year
LOL… It’s usually swept under the carpet not the couch. LOL
Loved the imagery in all of this. Happy, sad, poignant. Real life!
This is powerful and so relatable, Claudia– I love that your poems are rich in detail and sensory information and how direct your style is. Yes there is some kind of black hole in the aftermath of Christmas– I feel it too. I was in a cooking-singing-creating frenzy and then I roasted my wings as I fell. But today, more level. Love, j http://parolavivace.blogspot.com
Most of life could be seen as the “spaces in between”…but really, there is only now, and we forget, ya know?
Sci fi with a difference. Excellent.
Amazing, Claudia. I love how you wove Star Wars and the angel into this. I feel that way about my writing sometimes, too.
“in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
i dive into black holes”
Amen.
~Shawna
An interesting write Claudia. Given your prior poems this one is strikingly different from a subject-matter perspective. I like it. I like it because you have changed things up a bit. You reached for something fresh and different. I look forward to exploring more of the world up and beyond, celestrial in imagination, and with the unique ways you spend our world and the world of our imagination. A great post my friend.
This is a really strong poem – I empathise with the unwritten poems and sweeping things under the couch
Claudia, you are such a courageous writer…letting it all hang out then sweeping it all under the couch. Ha! Love this poem. Write on, girl! More words and more sweeping poetry above and under the couch ..in 2012
)
Under the couch is so much more practical than under a rug…no lumps.
Thank you for the honest thoughts instead of glorified ones that sound nice, but hollow. These are,to me, rich words, full of truisms….for me at least.
Peace,
Siggi in Downeast Maine
Fennel tea and Star Wars make for an interesting read. I enjoyed it.
The picture you paint had me sitting next to you while you were writing. I feel like such an amateur reading your work. Continue to inspire.
folding month by month
like garments, full of stains,
heavily used and do my best to smooth ‘em
hmm. wonderful. I too reflect upon the last year at this time – can one really sweep it all under the couch? Well, why not… my kids seem to think most things fit there…
Gee Claudia–that’s my cleaning method too!
Claudia, you write what I cannot say… even when you don’t write it. Some poems are too difficult to write… wonder if I ever will… all the words are there, just swirling like dust particles under a couch too heavy for me to lift.
Wow Claudia! This is so beautiful! My favorite part:
” in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
i dive into black holes & it’s not easy
to escape– folding month by month”
I understand these black holes because I have suffered from depression,panic attacks most of my life. I love how you let the difficult poems glide to the floor, take a broom and sweep. Thanks for this!
Dear Claudia
Its lovely… and I could see the epic scenario all around me…
Loved your lines…
‘its tiny particles under the couch,
together with the angel, i cut from the
window frame– may the force
be with you ‘
thanks for sharing…
Shashi
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/12/whisper-no-one-is-there-in-living-haiku.html
At Twitter @VerseEveryDay
in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
..yes..
and you will write those poems too difficult.. their time will come.. ‘the force’.. haha
I love it when the everyday runs headlong into the surreal. I don’t really mind which one wins. Full marks for lines like:
in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
i dive into black holes & it’s not easy
Christmas can be a melancholy time for adults: the shine has rubbed off the angel’s wings and life is not easy. I felt this strongly as I read your words.
Yes, some poems are too hard to write–at first any way…I’m sure you’ll find the secreted letters and patch them into something just right…
its tiny particles under the couch,
together with the angel, i cut from the
window frame– may the force
be with you …..
Love this, Claudia. Hope you had an amazing holiday
I love how you “work” your pieces – the tone, the phrasings, the flow – it all works so well to bring the poem to life – even subtle things like “(they have no ideas how angels look)” had me smiling – great descriptions throughout – particularly liked – “in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
i dive into black holes & it’s not easy
to escape– folding month by month
like garments, full of stains,” – really great writing! never been sure how to ‘follow’ on wordpress, but shall try somehow!’
Sci-fi and Star Wars difficult stories to tell. Can be easily discarded unfinished. Just as anticipated maybe some days in future it could be given a new least of life. The treatment given to your verse is excellent!
Hank
I love this
Folding months like garments …. nice…
oh, I know this feeling. you should see all the letters under my couch! (smiles)
Great reflective quality providing nice flow all the way through. Love the ending which stretches literal concepts and provides a very thoughtful closing.
This has far more credence and insight than the story someone I knew once told me, who I think now lives in Frankfurt I believe, telling me that he was in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’! Your writing has a wonderful idiosyncrasy and individualism – as it should!
This feels so down to earth and real. Love this!
Your poetic voice is developing in such original ways, Claudia. The rhythm of this, the impact of this poem, carries me through it to the end.
For someone who claims to be so new to poetry….you have a very old soul.
Lady Nyo
I’ll be sure to reach under the couch to get those letters for you
Really like this stanza,
“in the space where christmas ends
and life has not yet swallowed me,
i dive into black holes & it’s not easy
to escape– folding month by month”
so wonderfully captures the strange period of time between christmas and new year and how time does seem to crack and fall apart… may the force remain with you claudia throughout 2012!
I love the weave between present realities and imagined reaches, the heavens and cosmos combining in that angelic Star Wars article in the window, not quite enough to bless the poet with what she’s angling for but poem enough, which is usually as far as any of us can get. Besides, Santa never fills our stockings quite full enough. – Brendan
I like that you reveal the inner world amongst tinsel and angels. So much always going on there that we don’t see as if it is another galaxy.
“and the letters falls apart, i try hard
to glue ‘em back together, shift
the words and hold them on the screen with
silver ribbon rests, but there are poems,
way too difficult to write & finally
i let it glide onto the floor,
take a broom & sweep”
Hi! Claudia…
I’m quite sure that you will “win” the battle and find the right words…too!
Because I think all poet have “heart” and are very “visual” human being…[In other words, they seems to always be observing the world around them...until they can put pen to paper.]
Therefore, “take a broom & sweep” the words back into a poet mind…Here’s wishing you and your readers, a very happy, warm and safe Holiday Season and I’m looking forward to your very poetic words next year…too!
Take care!
deedee
In the space between where Christmas ends and life has not yet swallowed me up…You have such a way of creating images and moods, Claudia. I still marvel that you have not been poem-ing forever!
keep fightin the good fight. y’know, the starwars one…
fantastic Claudia, the pressing of the folded months only one of the perfectly tactile lines in this. My best to you for the upcoming folds! ~ Rose
This is the third poem of yours I’ve read, and it’s getting late, so I won’t attempt more tonight, but you are quite an original poet, throwing images and ideas inside the images around as if you are walking through the universe picking up suns and hurling them into the hearts of black holes. This is really interesting poetry.
Intergalactic war with angels swept under the couch, great wonder how things get swept there only to be seen discovered later. There’s more to this than meets the eye.