direct- and counter current

Posted on by claudia

i haven’t thought much about safety systems
but below the soil, beyond
the earthworms, that leave slimy trails
on sun-burnt toes, runs complicated
electronic wiring that needs testing & inspection,
with a bit of luck– Try &

connect red, blue & black, heck– just–
be careful in the process, we’re attach-
ing wires to TransFormers, CircuitBreaKers &
it needs well-trained eyes to spot,
locate, identify the causes of a breakDown,
frown, i squeeze my thighs until it hurts, watch
the sweep hand on my clock run circle-Wise,

aGain, Again in restless rounds, TickTock,
tiCKtoCK breaking streams of voltage– i am
more a gardener by nature, Hit
ground hard with my knees, and press
my face into the soil’s damp lips,
breathe scent of rot and birth from
broken earth, and then with what is left,
mold channels that run tight aGainst
the counter flow

.

karin is tending the poetics bar over at dVerse today…and we’re connecting things you wouldn’t usually…more details when the pub doors open at 3pm EST..

49 responses to “direct- and counter current”

  1. There is so much below earth’s surface! (And below the surface of everything, I think. Including this poem!) Glad that ‘safety systems’ mostly work, but even happier that there are worms building tunnels there so that the plants can get water and thrive! Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, Claudia!

  3. As usual, Claudia, you show such interesting description in your poems. I loved the image you captured with “the earthworms, that leave slimy trails / on sun-burnt toes”

  4. working with electricity is the last thing i want to do, one wrong step and you get fried…you know…esp underground because you have to be careful not to hit is too when you are digging…the squeezing of the thighs is a hard turn in this but i like it, it made m pause…and then the watching of time made me a bit anxious…love the intimacy with nature as well…right there with you…and the bit of revolutionary in creating counter flows….i like…smiles.

  5. at some point, our societal and personnel disconnect will come full circle…why not till the soils we shall one day rest in, eh?

    wonderful words C

    Peace

    ☮ ♬

  6. Just beautiful, Claudia…I truly love your flowing poetry, and I felt your connection to the earth vividly in this..” i am
    more a gardener by nature, Hit
    ground hard with my knees, and press
    my face into the soil’s damp lips,
    breathe scent of rot and birth from
    broken earth, and then with what is left,
    mold channels that run tight aGainst
    the counter flow” ~ lovely! 🙂

  7. Lovely imagery all through this. I also loved the earthworm leaving a slimy trail over toes. really enjoyed your connection to the soil and tending it with tenderness.
    Fabulous write 🙂

  8. Very much enjoyed it!
    I love the smell of freshly turned earth and the wonderful things the earth gives up from the past when you dig. This poem brought me back to a childhood memory of digging worms with my dad for a fishing trip. 🙂

  9. You’ve connected nature with electricity so nicely. I envisioned every word and felt like I was digging in that soil. I really enjoyed this.

  12. Very wise to immerse onself in the natural currents of live-giving Earth Mother instead of in manmade red, blue and black wires.

  14. Felt the currents vibrating through the earth right into my bones! Fantastic display of job related vocab! lol Perfect 🙂

  15. i love what you see and how you see it. breathe scent of rot and birth from broken earth was a sensual payoff. sunburnt toes and hurting thighs put me there, crouching in the garden. it’s a marriage of different worlds down there.

  17. Wow, I liked the change of rhythm in the middle part, and the coming back to earth at the end. Well played with capitals too. And your description of worms (which I am afraid of) is so accurate in the first lines that I actually felt disgusted – which is a good thing.

  19. Love these lines, Claudia:

    “below the soil, beyond the earthworms”
    “frown, i squeeze my thighs until it hurts, watch the sweep hand on my clock”
    “Hit ground hard with my knees, and press my face into the soil’s damp lips”

  23. Well, obviously the last lines are something I can totallly relate to–(you should have seen me trying to be a bookkeeper.)The build up here is almost excruciatingly mechanized, like everything human is being put through an unstoppable motor-driven wringer. Excellent piece, as always, Claudia.

  26. This is just magnificent Claudia:

    i am
    more a gardener by nature, Hit
    ground hard with my knees, and press
    my face into the soil’s damp lips,
    breathe scent of rot and birth from
    broken earth, and then with what is left,
    mold channels that run tight aGainst
    the counter flow

    You constantly blow me away…

  29. This is so much beneath the soil as there is so much to a person beneath the skin…liked this

  30. Wow…what is under this earth, roots are growing in and around technology that helps keep us all connected…and yet all of the above keep us going… very interesting to ponder this one… Love it Claudia!

  33. I’ll remember the lines
    ‘it needs well-trained eyes to spot,
    locate, identify the causes of a breakDown,
    frown’
    when I am next held up in traffic caused by a man in a hole in the ground!
    Nice write…

  34. “TickTock,
    tiCKtoCK breaking streams of voltage– i am
    more a gardener by nature” –

    says it all 😉 and then the descent into the earth to show us how, very nice claudia 😉

  35. I love the raw write of these, Claudia!

    “Hit
    ground hard with my knees, and press
    my face into the soil’s damp lips,
    breathe scent of rot and birth from
    broken earth,”

    I really like this portion A LOT!!! Great poem in totality!! Smiles to you!

  37. So good- and loving the metaphor- which for speaks about the complexities beneath the surface (beneath our surfaces) which call for attention to detail and respect- our emotional wiring maybe- cut the wrong wire and BOOM- at least that’s what it can feel like sometimes- very deep and emotional poem

  38. Wow … wonderful lines ‘my face into the soil’s damp lips,/ breathe scent of rot and birth from/ broken earth ….a great visual poem 🙂

  39. I started to think Claudia that there are so many levels to this. As other people have said, what goes on below the surface, the electricity flows, the life blood of modern life, we cannot live without it, but get the wrong wire and it will kill you…..and the gardening, nature, do what comes naturally to you, stick to your strengths, be yourself. I absolutely loved these lines too, “press
    my face into the soil’s damp lips, breathe scent of rot and birth from
    broken earth. ” Pure class claudia x

  40. Hi Claudia! It’s been too long–entirely my fault of course. But I’m excited to be back, gathering myself together in time for this challenge. And your creation struck home, since I spent most of the day in my garden. Today’s primary task was building compost piles, so I had a firsthand look at some of those fat worms and their mold channels. 🙂

  41. I honestly don’t think that all that wiring that surrounds us and the subsequent energy they give off is good for us…but gardening is and it’s hard to keep my hands out of the soil and to smell the “rot and birth”…love this!

  44. There is so much underground, hidden. You take me to your world with your strong imagery Claudia! Every time without fail!!

  45. Beautifully done, and very crafty. I especially loved how the counter current just sneaks up you.

    more a gardener by nature, Hit
    ground hard with my knees, and press
    my face into the soil’s damp lips,
    breathe scent of rot and birth from

    Especially loved these lines. I could feel the soil pressing against me. 🙂

  46. Love this, especially:
    “Hit
    ground hard with my knees, and press
    my face into the soil’s damp lips,
    breathe scent of rot and birth from
    broken earth”

  47. This was marvelous, and I think I am an electricity person more than an Earth person, but you make the earth sound sweet and solid and cool.

  48. I think it’s a beautiful and creative image to liken the underside of earth to a circuit! Awesome idea, Claudia. 😀 I can see all the connections, especially with the worms… I wonder where they all go?

  49. I understand this too well. Some things are better left to those who have a knack for it. I try to always let someone else take care of anything electrical. Oh! I can change a light bulb. 🙂