“2030– it will come” i think, “& we’re Never ready”,
& i’m angry about the crap that leaves his mouth,
grey suit parrot, WantTo push him off the stage,
scream “USE your fantasy, you CAN’t just
cut & paste, lean heavy weighed on bad researched
statistics, sell ‘em as the facts, don’t under-
estimate but look those young guys
in the eyes, i trust, they’ll chaNge the world,
again, aGain, DoThings different,
bravely shouldering the heavy heritage
we left ‘em with, paperCut the moon
& pin it freshly sprayed onto a widening space’s
dark suit, i waNNA laugh out loud, hiSterically
sit, with crossed arms, eyes pressed to
menacing slits until the break gong spits
relEase,
flee in the park and
brEATHe, BreaTHe, bReaTHE,
then ask the stream.
“2030, what do You think–?”
watery eyes on me, he gurgles,
broken bariton,
(which calms me down a bit)
“i can only tell you where i’ve been
the things i carry with me, moving, ’til
giving birth into the sea—“
i let my hand glide his stream,
feel for the steady heartbeat, Dive
face first into him, move deep-
Er, “carry me a bit?”
—————-we dont talk,
not now, just spill away the world,
“bet you’re an awesome lover”, not sure why,
i say this, just a feeling, &
my light brown cardigan i bought in california—
the only thing i brought back from my trip beside
charles’ shepherd pic,
it’s about caring, love contra neglect,
i walk extremes, desperately searching for the base,
“i’m sorry about that” i whisper to the stream,
he licks my thighs,
“thats fine with me,
we all flow to a certain pattern”
and i sigh, dial my husband’s number,
“hi”
“how’s hamburg? doing good?”
“i wanna sleep with you tonite” i say,
“you’re waiting up for me?”
“i will”
“i like your hairdress”,
i say to the stream, who is a pond now,
“thank you” & i love how playful
he is in his rest, teeter totters thousand
water lilies, spread like dotted nets,
across his even surface,
& i kiss him, careful on his chest,
“there’s so much beauty in the now”,
i smile, “thanks for your time”
then walk back in the meeting room,
drenchedWet & sea weed in my hair
.
Fred has us writing Beauty for poetics today..how there’s beauty in everything if we take the time to look..beauty even in ugliness..maybe work on the contrast to emphasize beauty or just the everyday beauty that we tend to overlook on busy days..see you at 3pm at dVerse..
jaywalking the moon 
smiles…very nice intensity to your words claudia…what an experience as well there with the river…whew…it carried you away a bit…smiles….its a wonderful intimacy with nature and in the stuffy world of business and travel and all your week has entailed…i am sure it was a lovely respite…beautiful…
off to bed, see you manana…
I follow here to feel the limitless application of your imagination.
As a child alone in the woods, I recall once hugging (REALLY!) a tree, and fantasized I could feel thump of a heartbeat there…I won’t go into detail…but…
Yes, beauty in EVERYTHING, especially the sea. And especially hair tied and twisted with seaweed. Angelic.
paperCut the moon- that’s all I have to say. This whole poem was amazing. Claudia, I have to say, you’re one of my favorite poets. Ever.
Wonderful contrasts beautifully written
“there’s so much beauty in the now”,
That about sums the feel.One loses out not noticing! Truly said Claudia! Though some may not be faulted. Only certain people are privileged with that ability to appreciate ordinary things. Nicely!\
Hank
owWOOOOO!!! Puppets and projections and blah blah while waiting for youth to step up would drive me into the life giving present as well.The wonder of it is that after stroking streams and phoning, the narrator returns to the job! Having an escape into reality (pinch me) was what helped many of us do the business of the day.
Wow. Just. Bloody. Wow!
Had quite enough of a meeting going nowhere that one just has to go to the park and jump in the stream. 😀 I love how the narrator is cooled off in the end there. Enjoyed reading this.
You have a fascinating method of capturing moments visually. I really enjoyed this.
For a minute there I thought we had an Ophelia scenario, but happily not the case. Loved the baritone of the stream turning into nothing but a pond once you had something better lined up for the evening.
The suits had better watch out, for one day soon you are going to spill the beans. Oh Claudia, where does it all come from?
Just taking a step back to see, the ugly turned beauty, can really make one think indeed at ones feed.
Ha! There is beauty in everything though my corporate meetings tend to be a bit less full of adventure! The only seaweed on the sandwiches I used to make! Coo journey, Claudia! And as always lovely breaks in the flow to come to surface – the reconnecting with husband – all of that wonderful. k.
I love how you swan dive into the playful now with verve & panache !!
“we dont talk,
not now, just spill away the world,” ah yes, yes, yes !!
A marvelous fantasy daydreamy reprieve from the dreary doldrums of the business world !! just awesome !!!
Feel these contrasts of yours….smiles…..we always can find a beauty in everything, it’s just perception…all descriptions are visual…paperCut of life…ths
what a lovely flow:) the river, stream, is such a powerful image. i don’t know if it was rumi or my horoscope a while back (honestly, i’m pathetic:), but i read how i live next to a river and if i would just drink from the river i lived next to i would be satisfied instead of following it toward some larger body of water. by loving the stream, submerging, accepting it and its mysteries, you find the beautiful lagoon, pond. i do very much like how it seems to begin at a corporate, or some sort of function on stage, the ultimate external scene, followed by your vision of the water, totally and perfectly internal.
It’s good that we can escape into nature when confronted with pseudo visionaries …it cools the blood…glad that the shepherd made it home. 🙂
I like the contrasting of nature and the business world and trying to bring some of one into the other.
Your dialogue with the stream is so vivid, and I love the constrat between the 2030 (of which the stream now less by still know more) is such a contrast to “there’s so much beauty in the now” .. a really lovely read (and I read it quite a few times)
Awesome piece Claudia, love the aesthetics you enhanced the poem with, really capturing the visual, complex and even abstract nature of what is beautiful and how it surrounds life in general. Great read. thanks
The contrasts are vast & vivid, as your chagrin over the talking gray heads in the boardroom send you outside gasping for both air and beauty, for a chance to clasp slender fingers with the tentacles of Now, for meditating along a river that rolls relentlessly toward the sea, completing its cycle but never tiring of the rebirth of its watery eros–and yes, there is some poetic madness, some Ophelia moments, but you rode out the dervish of despair like a siren, and one could only applaud both your including your husband in your solution, but your seaweed head band of protest; wonderful ride, thanks.
papercut the moon… the the stream’s bariton – you created a beautiful scenery here, a great contrast to office life. beautifully crafted & very touching – as always.
i waNNA laugh out loud, hiSterically
sit, with crossed arms, eyes pressed to
menacing slits until the break gong spits
relEase,
flee in the park and
brEATHe, BreaTHe, bReaTHE
I love how that sounds…
I love all your poems….this one really drew me in…feeling it all the way through…excellent
This is priceless, Claudia. That dialogue with the stream felt to me like a perfect Zen moment and makes me want to get up and walk down to the river a block from here and have a little chat.
My corporate meeting are duller than yours, smiles ~
I specially like the conversation with the stream, broken bariton ~ steady heartbeat ~ The word breaks and fonts are creative as always Claudia ~ You are spinning them beautifully in this post ~
This really took me for a swim. Lovely write. Hard not to read a few times, and still leave food for thought. 🙂
Wow a little edginess to the verse today girl well done 🙂
Intensely drastic contrasts, well blended, I could not stop reading to breathe until I got to the end! What a read! I like what you did with the letter. Emphasis on stream, you make a meeting sound like it really is….. Intense.
Claudia, so vivid, so palpable. I love how it engages my senses. And water imagery can be trite, but yours was so fresh. Nice!
Carrying along with the tide, the river works wonderfully here as a metaphor. Beautiful is the now – lovely verse!
I will get back to your poem, Claudia. Freshly washed clothes have been calling me frantically so that I could fold them and pack them in suitcases. Have a happy day. 🙂
Goddesses and gods from Greece and Rome took non-human forms to seduce. You’ve brought them back to life in this seductive write. ~ M
I have a similar relationship with gravity – it’s comforting to know where ever (on earth) I am, I am being held. Really enjoyed your watery conversation.
beautiful contrasts!
paperCut the moon
& pin it freshly sprayed onto a widening space’s
dark suit,
Amazing to me that you maintain this standard throughout.
Lies, more lies and then statistics are best broken up with a bit of rough and tumble. I only wish I could be speaking from experience. Nice contrast in this poem Claudia, and I love the bit of naughty that comes along with the imagery.
What a beautiful poem about beauty! 🙂 Loved it.
Greetings from London.
Hi! Claudia…
“the furious, the beauty, & the stream…”
“& i kiss him, careful on his chest,
there’s so much beauty in the now”,
i smile, “thanks for your time”
i really like through your poetic words how you made the stream come to life and how you connected…the stream, with your reality… too !
Thanks, for sharing !
deedee 🙂
beauty in destruction and chaos..
loved that
ripped the breath from my lungs claudia!
Beautiful and intimate, so in the moment which I love! Sometimes you need to breathe and step outside yourself a little…very nice!
Thank you Claudia- this is only the 2nd piece of yours that I have read. I am new to interpreting (as I mentioned to Brian) but I say if I like or I don’t without getting into intricate details as to why or why nots. I simply enjoyed the romance, the light heartedness and chuckled at the sea-weed in the hair 🙂 – thank you.
Ah, I’d LOVE to see their faces if you really were drenched in seaweed!! It’s FAR better than smokers breath 🙂 I love this “escapism” poem. If we all were able to find a place to anchor like this, perhaps the Merry-Go-Round would become like the one in Mary Poppins! …. actually allow for creativity and change! I also love the touch intimacy that is interwoven with the stream and the phone call.
Claudia – such an strong and forceful poem – filled with those intimate touches – so love the final lines K
Mmmm, I love this! Always wanted to have a stream for a lover–so smooth and tender with it’s caresses–love how you flowed together and came back to the meeting wet with seaweed in your hair 🙂
I’m sitting in a conference room, breathless. Thank you.
I think that I love most the speaking to the river! There is comfort and continuity in that image … even as the river becomes a pond. It’s water, all water, it holds you unless of course it is a flood.
It’s hard to find beauty everywhere. There are people we don’t agree with, scenery that’s distasteful, but if we look deeply we can see beauty in the essence. I love the way you express this. I’ll have to remember to find the stream in everything.
“paperCut the moon
& pin it freshly sprayed onto a widening space’s
dark suit” Love this!
2030? We need to do a better job of caring for this planet. At the rate we are destroying it all now…