Image by Nick Gentry
.
there’s a way to see //dBase
through holes like–“life is louder than Big Ben” she says
with a whimsy smile
like my daughter’s when
snow fell through the window in her space,
piling on the carpet
cause we’re bored, forceful with the things
that have too smooth a surface
glued//transplanted//fiXed
0’s and 1’s on mainstream films,
an old woman bends frail limbs
to feed the chicken
&i cannot see her face, just outlines
of a grey coat in the white
as i run by//sweating//panting
&she stays, strangely
all the way, in the shower as foam piles on my head
i carve her in the fogged up pane
sticky/ burned
to the disks that are my eyes, now- just
—-a trace
of something i can’t grab
&weirdly, still
———-i hold it
.
Grace has us write to the art of Nick Gentry for Poetics today… image used with his friendly permission
pub doors open at 3pm EST…
jaywalking the moon 
ONe
Holding things we cannot grab…..perhaps much of life is this….and perhaps this is better than being able to grab what we cannot hold. Smiles.
It’s good to see with different eyes, “discs” that create new questions for what seems routine and has gotten boring.
Nice to read you again Claudia. I’ve been gone a bit, may need to be abscent agaiin soon, but it’s sure nice to be here now. Hope you have a spectaular New Year.
I enjoyed the reflection on ‘seeing’ and perceiving. I find it is hard for many people (myself included) to step back so as to try and see things from a different perspective. I guess it is a lifetime endeavor.
Sometimes we have to let go and other times we have to grab that stuff we can’t and keep on a trucking.
Somehow.. we see so much — record so little, and understand even less.. seems much like those big disks that somehow never manage to digest.. yet holding on to everything… wonderfully inspired .. I had to read it several times just to get deeper into it.
I’ve often found when I hang on too tightly, it is a warning that it is time to let go. There always seem to be those images that can’t or won’t disappear. Wonderful poem Claudia.
i found the elements of being put together, maybe in different ways, interesting… liked the visual of the old woman and her chickens
Some things defy our need to categorize into 0 & 1’s…they persist in their original form as mental images with all their shades of gray…a wonderful poem to start my day.
We all grab things we can’t hold on to from time to time… gives us a sense of appreciation… or longing…
Wanting to control everything even if we can’t embrace it…greedily collecting and owning by …eyes…how many lives we really need to customize everything we have?…lol
the lines on being forceful with things that have too smooth a surface…they really jumped out at me on the first read…would be cool to see snow…even if coming in through the window….we are probably still weeks away from seeing any….also i like the connection you make to all that we see and how they stick with us….smiles
good to be back
I specially admire the opening lines, to see with those magical eyes ~
and some images stick don’t they ~ Thanks for playing along Claudia ~ Happy New Year ~
This is very cool….the holding of things “burned to the disks that are my eyes.” Wow, Claudia. Stellar write! (It’s so nice we’re all back online, yippee. I missed everyone)
A perfect poem that stands on its own coated in brilliance, yet a perfect take on the Gentry art; almost chose that one myself; it was so different from the rest. Haunted by Bjorn’s comment /we see so much/record so little/& understand even less/. Liked your lines /in the shower as foam piles on my head/I carve her in the fogged up pane/ So good to back in the saddle, on the trail again.
A matrix pattern of our world of what is real and what isn’t.
What a truly brilliant piece and your poetry always gets me thinking and brings a smile to my face.
Thank you for you always being you. 🙂
Once again I love your poem. 🙂
Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.
~Gertrude Stein
Wonderful take, Claudia. I keep circling back to these lines:
“cause we’re bored, forceful with the things
that have too smooth a surface”
I just love the image, too.
I can see the artist in you emerging in the words you write: the woman’s image staying with you as you grasp and remember, drawing it in soap images on shower walls. Always love your captures of life, Claudia!
Catching the elusive… I had a at attempting to capture the elusive in my poetry writing today. I guess there is some seduction in what we cannot hold.
hmm..interesting what to save and what to delete in our memory banks. I find it interesting how our minds sift through what we perceive as necessary. Your poetry always makes me think. Thank you for that.
It is interesting that a commonplace thing can take our imagination by surprise and replay it again and again. Wonderful poem.
fascinating flow of images — something i can’t grab
cool piece, Claudia. Discs for eyes is an interesting idea…and perhaps one that Mr. Gentry used deliberately, as our memories do record a fair bit of what we see.
I think your style of writing compliments this artist’s work perfectly.
This poem made me think about how what we do can become mechanical and lifeless. Too much sameness and we don’t even know that winder has stolen the best colors.
This reminds me of an in-law farm of an elder pastor and his wife.. that we visit the first Sunday of the month.. and all there is.. is farm animals and love..
And not even an Internet connection for skyway claim to Information highway..
The cows don’t need the Internet.. anyway.. or the donkeys.. or the pigs.. or the cats and dogs.. and humans too..:)
And when I’m there I forget about the IT highway.. and breathe with the grass once again…..
And I always sleep better almost on the ride home.. as the relaxation.. is just that tame.. to put a driver to sleep..:)on the road hardened highway of home….in sky and ground….
Through a glass darkly….. Interesting take on the artwork.
That final image of grabbing onto the things we can’t hold is haunting. Beautiful poem!
very true lines claudia..the closing lines are beautiful
Enjoyed the contrast of old and modern in this–especially the image of the old lady bent over–quite touching, really.
I love the line “life is louder than Big Ben.” And I’m still thinking about the old woman. Strong poem.
now- just
—-a trace
of something i can’t grab
&weirdly, still
———-i hold it
One often perseveres right through not wanting to take defeat. Holding on tenaciously can well bring the results. Wonderful write Claudia!
Hank
yes, that last verse really describes it ~