Vader? heck, i must have missed him somewhere in between the racks

Posted on by claudia
my brushes

some of my brushes

.

we’re limpid knights,
chase the universe (which is really a DIY store)
galaxies in blue, red, piNk (all RAL normed)

wrinkled faced w/ canny eyes,
he looks at me,
i’m blind for anything–
busy trying to explain//sort my brain,
digging deepTheDepths of my handbag
for coordinates,

(my daughter shakes her head–
he’s waiting patiently)

“ok” he says, (unemotional),
“get one bucket polar white/opaque, over there” &
points me down the endlessly extending milky way–
“meanwhile i’ll do the mix”

i’m still not sure– yet “do you think–?”
(the maCHine rolls iRon arMs)

shrRrkkk– tsSshhKcc
he layers tape ’round the edge
(to prevent escaping),
the liquid body of four00eight,
(a secret code to those
outside the shade–),

we follow him
as he hobbles down busy aisles,
i wanna ask him how it happened,
if it was an accident or–

bite my lips, the gaping steel mouth
of an upward scraping rack on me &

thousand color cards
swing ZinnnNGing laser swords,
pull bows //StrainAim——>tssSsHacK
i can’t escape ’em
fast enough,

passing the check out finally,
my daughter says:
“you were talking weird things mom”

“oh, i– ”
take her arm&

practice breathing in black holes,
(they look friendly after all) BIG, galaCtic stoRmEyes
in ambiguous violet,
the last loop back is grey, white, grey
bLack stripes, leading us
to where the car waits,

quiet & sleepy,
in the last row (past the death star),
bathed
in pancake yellow light

.

we painted my son’s old room which is my new hobby room now  – and i wanted a specific color but then suddenly wasn’t sure any more and changed my mind a hundred times…smiles.. it’s mocha now… and i love it… just this guy at the DIY store and my daughter were close to a heart attack…smiles…oh and RAL is a european color matching standard.. linking this up with OLN at dVersePoets where we paint poetry (no matter what color..smiles) on all the pub walls…starts 3pm EST

74 responses to “Vader? heck, i must have missed him somewhere in between the racks”

  2. How neat that you have a hobby room, Claudia. It is hard making decisions about what color to paint a room & equally hard to try to explain/sort one’s brain. Glad you finally found just the RIGHT color! Smiles.

  3. I was just thinking…we should interview your children..especially after reading this poem…I could construct a poetic tribute based upon their observations of their ‘mom’…of course I would have to travel to Germany to complete the project…let’s see how many recycle bottles would that take? 🙂 So enjoyed your poem.

  4. Ha. You’re driving people crazy. And that poor guy has no idea about the colors, shapes and textures that go on in your mind to create such colorful poetry. Glad you’re happy with the final color and that you now have space for your hobbies.

  6. that paint shaking machine comes to life here. what fun to recreate a room. i love the you were talking weird things mom:)

  7. Your daughter’s comment made me lol…nothing like our kids to tell us the truth about ourselves, at least how they see it anyway..ha…cool you have a hobby room, fun stuff!

  8. Ah, how familiar, the digging in the depths of the handbag for stuff … Mine’s usually under the kitchen sink that’s somehow appeared within those depths! Smashing poem, Claudia *smiles*

  9. …oh, i’m envious of the hobby room… wish i could have one more than just a fave place / spot in this rented space… aww… but wonder why you painted that old son’s room… is he not returning anymore?….totally independent? smiles…

    ..well, an artist’s mind don’t just settle to an ordinary shade… it repeatedly mix colours…then erase…then mix again…and again…until it feels good from the heart & eyes… when i get to buy my own house ha… i’ll personally design it…i have lots of creations & designs & sketches inside my mind & i just can’t wait to finally have my own real dream house… smiles… loved this Claudia…

  10. i am with kelvin…pretty cool you have the hobby room and mocha is a very cool color…ha…i can easily picture how overwhelming that choice can be faced with all the different colors and possibilities…..its got a rather alice in wonderland chaoticness to it….

  11. I’m talking weird things all the time … and I don’t even care any more if people understand … love your words, C … always, cat.

  15. Claudia, nice! My favorite lines are about digging deep in the handbag for coordinates, and (especially) the endlessly extending milky way — paint stores can be overwhelming.

  17. I needed the explanation this time, Claudia, I was spacing on intersections out in the milky way. I t reads better with the anchor, I think, though I like spacy if it has a lot of yellow in it..

  18. What a lovely ride to the galaxy of PaintStarStore, and back. Of course, you talk funny, think macabre thoughts, harbor a poet’s filter than every vibration all day must process through, and it/they will morph into words, your words. Now that I’m retired, every room in my house is the Hobby Room; smile.

  19. The metaphor of life as a DIY project will stick with me, Claudia. And your painting stands out for the movement you’ve created in it. And I still haven’t taken my paints out. Bad girl!

  26. This just made me smile and smile… who would have ever thought a trip to the DIY store could give birth to such magical poetry!? I love where you went with this, especially what your daughter says to you, and the breathing in black holes… we can never explain the way our thoughts work, can we?

  27. I like the onomatopoeia. As a frustrated decorator myself (currently living in rented accommodation and unable to express my designer ‘talents’), I was in complete agreement with you. You have the right to choose your mind… even tomorrow, say? Great fun!

  28. ha! i change my mind all the time, which is why i prefer going shopping alone (bad enough that the clerks see my uncertainty 😉 – they at least won’t usually say i’m talking weird stuff, even if they’re thinking it)
    love the quirkiness here, the dodging (or missing) darth, & especially the “pancake yellow light” – & yes, the image too (did you paint that? – nice!)

  29. This was quite a different way to approach this poem, I really enjoyed the way you worded this. Great poem! And yay to the hobby room. Oh to have space! Lucky 🙂

  30. Children…. they ruin all the fun sometimes 🙂 I have a feeling paint clerks are SO used to this sort of thing. I get paint samples and swipe them all over my walls and it stays that way for a few weeks.

  32. Enjoy the hobby room! I have a meditation room…problem is that my main living room is itself relaxing and I forget to go meditate in the other room! Glad the paint colour worked out after all the galactic exploring…this was a fun read.

  33. Try picking room colors with a color blind husband in tow! Almost impossible. We recently painted the spare room that hadn’t been painted (and had peeling wallpaper) since before we moved in back in 1989! It’s like a totally different room in two shades of blue. 🙂 Just the thought of going to Home Depot or Lowes makes me cringe. Peace, Linda

  35. Choosing your own color can be most frustrating. What with..’will it turn out ok’….thoughts! Glad you did it. Btw, your painting of your brushes is great. It looks like oils. Great poem and great art work Claudia!

    Hank

  36. I wish looking at paint samples was as fun as you make this. My wife will take me there and I don’t see the nuance of color – just white, off white, near yellow… fun poem.

  39. Somewhere between the moon and home depot – Claudia waits for the colors to blend and out comes the fresh smell of cafe au lait, irish coffee, mocha yum yum yum – which keeps her awake while she sews a cocoon, a balloon that will float her right back to the moon. I just love it.

  40. Sounds like the lives we live: “digging for coordinates”, searching, striving to be understood, “talking weird things”, finding just the right color. A fun poem, makes you want to go back and read it again to pick up what you haven’t grasped the first time.

  41. The names of colors are so intense and magical and here you are naming them yourself – pancake yellow light is one I’d not mind glowing in. Thanks, Claudia. k.

  43. Just as you got somewhat lost picking a paint colour…I could get lost in this poem. Chaotically beautiful! (I’m re-discovering poetry, and it’s gonna be a LONG time before I can write anything as brilliant as yours) 🙂

  47. Cosmic in the most extraordinary way, Claudia. I shall never look at going to the DIY (Home Depot, for me) the same again. I really enjoyed every nuance of this.
    I have my own hobby room, but it is pink. I must do something about that 🙂

    Pamela

  52. Love your poetic storytelling, Claudia. Painting the picture and your mood/stream of consciousness. I suffer from bouts of indecision too when choosing colours. Everything jumps at me. It takes ages to pick out a favourite. Enjoy your new hobby room.

  53. I had a chuckle about ” talking weird things”..seems to be something that happens to me quite often..lol..nice to have a hobby room just for yourself..I hope creative energy fills the room.

  56. “”the liquid body of four00eight,
    (a secret code to those
    outside the shade–),”
    These lines made me laugh!!
    All those colors and thoughts floating in your head, trying to get that perfect mix and all of a sudden feel like you’ve passed into the “Color Zone”–the Twilight Zone for redecorators–Yeah, redecorating can sometimes have that effect!! Great bit of writing, I can so relate to this!

  61. Oh, I wish I had a hobby room like yours…Smiles!
    Great imagery…beautiful writing. Choosing colors is not easy especially when you have an artistic mind. 😀
    Lovely…

  63. it is true as a parent we have the right to change our minds and find the whole galaxy is crazy too. i love the perception of your child. what a great read. thank you

  64. Never underestimate the power of the dark side of brown! A fun excursion, Claudia. DIY guys can be PITA sometimes. (I know. I served my time and then joined rebellion!) Smiles.

  66. Well Done! How the genius mind really works, I enjoyed this read. You do have to pay attention…I have those moments hoping the best for your kids so you can keep the room for our hobby, read, write, paint, play room. Empty Nester here.

  69. Yes! I get it completely. Colour matters. Hugely. And I love how you capture an eccentric mind out for a walk around the universe of possibilities. Yep, people often might feel ready for a heart attack but they love you really 🙂

  71. Just like Virginia Woolf you need a room of your own to keep these flashes of brilliance coming – I especially loved: practice breathing in black holes,
    (they look friendly after all) BIG, galaCtic stoRmEyes
    in ambiguous violet, Wonderful!

  72. Feel sorry for the brush you are using to paint that picture at top. Might feel sort of left “out-of-the-picture”? So I say, “Nice piece of work, Claudia, and you, favorite brush who streaked perfectly Claudia’s wishes and talents on canvass.

    NOW! I go read the poem:
    Ahhh! Your art work accentuates the poetic account of your DIY adventure. NEAT! (Means I LIKE!)

    Last night Anna and I were discussing what color to have our house painted
    The whole neighborhood will sharpen up, shape up…

    We agreed too quickly that we’d like the same color as 20 years ago. However, what color it was then, is not NOW….and the story continues, which I’ll blog, probably for OLN.

    Well done Amiga!

    EVERYBODY needs a room, their own. Wonder how somewhere are 10-12 people living/sleeping, etc., in two rooms, one broken toilet and leaky tub. On THAT “UP-NOTE” I wish for you, Claudia,
    PEACE and LIGHT and .smiles!
    Steve