Thursday, March 01, 2007

Parallel Streams---Poetry Thursday

. This week the theme is very unusual. To describe something but no names, please. I was going to give it a miss as I couldn't think of what to write. I wrote this after much pondering.


on the side-table
isolated, ignored,
waiting; it lay

meanwhile
books were read;
papers picked.

crying louder.
willing hands to
reach out for it.

box of crayons
fought for
by unruly kids

still overlooked
sitting forlorn
clamouring

keyboard punched
thoughts
whirling away

to be noticed.
silence trying
to reach out.

Mind not registering
anything except
impending deadline.

one sweeping hand
obliterates it
staining the carpet.

intermission!
heart burns
picking splinters!

......................................

For more on "without give away what the thing is" click What's in a name.


35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great poem, I'm glad you wrote it. I was thinking a glass of water, but then the splinters threw me off.

rel said...

Good job. I'm glad you were inspired to participate. I, like brian think a drink of some form. Perhaps splinters of glass or shards of china?
rel

Natalie said...

Hmm, I'm still guessing on this one. Same as remimam... china? glass? I'm enjoying the mystery...

Dennis said...

I’m jus no good at these riddles – I haven’t guessed one right all day! Sure is a lot of fun though trying to figure them out.

Norma said...

I was thinking perhaps a glass of wine, looked forward to after the job was completed, only to be lost. Could probably work on several levels.

Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your visits.

Regina said...

I'm with Dennis here- but I am really impressed with just how wonderful all the poems have been this week!
Your poems always make me think, Gautami- I love the way you put ideas together!

polona said...

intruguing and so well written!

Cassiopeia Rises said...

Well you have written a fine poem but you have stumped me. The only thing I could come up with was a glass of well earned wine. Hope you had some more. lol
Great work gt.

love-bd

sage said...

I am still pondering, nice images!

Paul said...

The slimy chalk, the cutting pens, the broken arm, and now crayon fights with splinters...

Could you have a teaching assistant take charge of the equipment and you could just do the instruction?

Stay safe,
Paul

Tammy Brierly said...

A cup of tea came to my mind :) I enjoyed it very much because I remember those times well.

Jessica said...

I love the alternating italics stanzas and the way they build upon each other. I think I'm with the crowd, here, and I thought glass of wine. Shows where my mind's at. :)

Pauline said...

Tammy beat me to the cup of tea...will you be telling us just what you knocked off the table? Wonderful imagery here.

wendy said...

For me, this could be anything quenching...and ignored on an all too busy day.

Clockworkchris said...

I love how the poem takes us through a process of thinking of what to write about which is what you were saying above the poem. By the way, I think I owe you an apology-I am sorry.

Anonymous said...

beautiful. You've beautifully captured the desolation and yearning of something thats being ignored.

gP said...

gautami ka...the snap thingy is spoiling the surfing experience in your blog.

Nice poem...had that feeling of present time, something dynamic but happening in a short time,.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I was thinking a glass of wine, but how could you ignore a glass of wine for so long....?!

Pat Paulk said...

For not knowing what to write, you wrote very well. I love it!!

magiceye said...

splendid!

writerwoman said...

Splinters to me means wood so I will say a picture frame.

I enjoyed how much tender longing ws expressed by the object as it was time and time again overlooked.

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Good job. If this has become a guessing game, I'm guessing a cup of whatever...shards could be glass, or ceramics, as well as wood....;)

gautami tripathy said...

Dear friends, splinters is not only of wood. It can be of glass, china etc. This works at many levels. Any thing could have been waiting to be picked up.

But a mug of coffee was in my mind. Staining the carpet...tea too fits in.

chris: That's ok. I liked your idea for this exercise. Infact most of my poetry come under this category but in a transient level.

gautami tripathy said...

paul: How you remember things! I think I should take your advice and have an assistant? Are you willing to be one?

Deb said...

I'm taken by the alternating stanzas.

I thought *someone* accidentally brushed a paint pot or ink well on the floor. reachiing over it to get to some other demand. The desire to create art overtaken by the "regular job".

No matter, it's a nice read.

Mary J. said...

I like how the poem describes the riddle, instead of just being the riddle. It's like the poem is the process of finding this thing. Like a lost set of keys, that only show up after you've given up.

Lovely energy in the poem. Thanks for stopping by my blog, too!

Kai said...

i like this....

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

Ha!! I was thinking coffee before I read what you said. Great minds think alike. :)

floots said...

ha - i came in after you gave the answer so i can pretend i was right all along :)
cheers

dsnake1 said...

ha! i knew it was coffee (after you gave the answer)but actually i was thinking it was a glass of fruit juice. :)

paris parfait said...

I like the interwoven stanzas - something to drink and shards of broken china? Not sure.

puerileuwaite said...

I did guess correctly! A most enjoyable poem, Gautami.

gautami tripathy said...

Thanks all.

What I feel is the guessing part took away the poetry part of it. This exrcise was misunderstood by most of us.

Jone said...

I love this. I thought I was in a library until the end.

gautami tripathy said...

Thanks jone!