"Life is the dancer and you are the dance."
— Eckhart Tolle

Thursday, April 21, 2011

"Run My Hands Along The River" NaPoWriMo #21

I’m unlike all the rest who scatter for empathy

It rises high in shafts from where I seek its comfort
from coming rain, resting easy on strands of
brilliant stars bursting before me

Long-distance on the wire makes a room
turn pitch black, plastic smells like death
cradled in my hands, everything collapses
into haze as I exist in between

I extracted heinous expressions from my brain,
resolving that it would never affect me in the future

When I opened my eyes catching pinpoints paralleled
with visual stimuli, realizing it was the first time I was paying
attention to what encompassed me

Wrapped in a blanket of joy, a new life awaiting
nourishment of what’s in the world,
your smiles lit my way

I remember everything  

Music in words filling days and dreams,
looking at an evolving sky,
watching colours as sunsets change how I feel 




* A prompt by Marty McConnell that she references in this interview in http://muzzlemagazine.com 

Here's what Donna Vorreyer did with the prompt:

http://djvorreyer.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/day-18-madonna-complex/

Donna also provides interesting Saturday prompts;  visit her site.

Prompt: (stanza 1) tell us what you are not (stanza 2) say where the light comes from (stanza 3) give three details about the hardest year of your life (stanza 4) tell a lie about who you are (stanza 5) tell us something you remember involving light (stanza 6) share a good memory (stanza 7) admit to the lie (stanza eight) describe an object that exemplifies who/what you are.
Posted by flaubert at 12:53 AM

30 comments:

  1. vivinfranceApril 21, 2011 at 1:33 AM

    That prompt is totally beyond me. Bravo for doing it at all, let alone with such panache.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Stan SkiApril 21, 2011 at 2:02 AM

    You took us on a journey through memories, good and bad - the good ones suggesting little or no regret about the bad ones.

    ReplyDelete
  3. M. A. S.April 21, 2011 at 2:17 AM

    That was a journey. I was kept guessing. But I kept reading. It was very enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ron.April 21, 2011 at 2:40 AM

    Too freakin much. What a prompt. I'd never.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousApril 21, 2011 at 3:03 AM

    That was a difficult one; you did it well.

    My favourite line (you give me a lot of favourite lines!):

    plastic smells like death
    cradled in my hands

    ReplyDelete
  6. brenda wApril 21, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    You had me at the title. This is an interesting piece, Pamela. All of your poems urge me to read them again. Your language use strikes lush imagery.
    ~Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dave KingApril 21, 2011 at 8:01 AM

    Memory, a rich source of imagery. You mine it well.

    ReplyDelete
  8. JinksyApril 21, 2011 at 8:51 AM

    I'm lost...

    ReplyDelete
  9. MarianneApril 21, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    Amazing response to a difficult challenge. I love your work, Pamela. Your words are always juicy and luscious. This is especially notable: "resting easy on strands of brilliant stars bursting before me."

    ReplyDelete
  10. signed...bkmApril 21, 2011 at 10:50 AM

    Pam, What an excellent piece of writing encompassing thoughts and life and times...can feel the life changing form from stanza to stanza....and difficult prompt that you mastered extremely well here..bkm

    ReplyDelete
  11. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    Thanks Viv, not an easy prompt, but easier than a ghazal:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    No regrets about the good things, Stan, but hard to convey it with the bad.

    ReplyDelete
  13. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    I know, M.A.S.

    ReplyDelete
  14. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    That's the beauty of it, Ron, you don't have to:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:38 AM

    Nice compliment, Tilly, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  16. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    The most difficult thing for me is the title, Brenda. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  17. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:40 AM

    Thanks Dave.

    ReplyDelete
  18. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    I can't help you with that, Jinksy:)

    ReplyDelete
  19. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:42 AM

    Marianne, you always have something nice to say. I appreciate that:)

    ReplyDelete
  20. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 11:42 AM

    Thanks so much, Barb.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Andy SewinaApril 21, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    Nicely done! I enjoyed reading the poem then I read the back story and realised how complicated it was. Very well done!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. flaubertApril 21, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    Thanks Andy, this could use some revision, some time in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  23. MaryApril 21, 2011 at 9:07 PM

    Excellent poem in response to a difficult prompt, Pam. I admire you for tackling it...I like 'wrapped in a blanket of joy...' It warms me!

    ReplyDelete
  24. GloriaApril 21, 2011 at 9:21 PM

    Jeeze, I usually jump at challenges, but I think I would jump away from this one....hmmm..
    When I read through it the first time, I thought it was very poetic, but I didn't get it. Then I read your notes (thanks for including the notes), and went back to the poem All I can say is Well Done!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. ElizabethApril 21, 2011 at 11:32 PM

    First read, I caught all kinds of meaning and thought I understood. Then read the explanation and thought, "Wow! You got this from that?" Then went back and read it a second time. Still like what I caught the first time around. As always, your use of language makes me drool, wonderful writing,

    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  26. flaubertApril 22, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    That bit is about Melissa, and I felt/feel exactly that way, Mary. This wasn't an easy prompt, but I am glad I did it.

    ReplyDelete
  27. flaubertApril 22, 2011 at 11:17 AM

    Thanks Gloria, I suppose it could've sat alone without the notes or maybe not.

    ReplyDelete
  28. flaubertApril 22, 2011 at 11:18 AM

    Elizabeth, what a really nice thing to say. Interesting you liked on the first read, not knowing what it was about. I like that.

    ReplyDelete
  29. lucychiliApril 22, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    challenging prompt and
    thoughtful imagery

    ReplyDelete
  30. flaubertApril 26, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    Thanks Janet:)

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)