Thursday, December 06, 2007

lifeline of directions--Totally Optional Prompts



vaseline slips through fingers-
a dash here, a dash there.
fingers walk on each other
with no clear destination.
pause a while, rub a nail

feeling the zagged edges.
knuckles wait for their turn
fisting into palm, whispering.
both ends of lifeline meet,
exchanging pleasantries.

hands hold whole of universe
needing no other direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read more road signs...


23 comments:

sister AE said...

I like this, especially,
"both ends of lifeline meet
exchanging pleasantries."

Jo said...

A lovely write.....especially the last few lines!

Deb said...

You've taken a simple, everyday action and elevated it. Well done!

Rambler said...

hands hold whole of universe
needing no other direction.


so very true Gautami

paisley said...

such a simple poem.. you made it sound so lovely tho,, i had to read it twice to make sure you were just talking about rubbing vaseline on your hands....

Tumblewords: said...

I like the way your words circle, work and come back to the ultimate line.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Another really strong one, G. So very vivid... Wow.

Whitesnake said...

Uh Huh! Yep!

Russell CJ Duffy said...

effortlessly writen as if you composed this in tranquil mood. lovely stuff.

Rethabile said...

Agree with ...deb. In fact that is the strength of the poem, IMHO.

Anonymous said...

That was lovely!

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

I agree that using the suggested live link code right in your comments works well. I've been doing this routinely for a long time, because I didn't want links to my blogger page.

Mad Kane

Andy Sewina said...

Looks like you've got the whole world in your hands -

Anonymous said...

A clever & effective take on the prompt. I like 'zagged edges' & the final two verses close the poem perfectly.

Rob Kistner said...

Fascinating work Gautami.

Anonymous said...

... the fine line between pornography and art. You are so damn clever! A beautiful sly touch, my dear.

Max Babi said...

Gautami, this is an amazingly tightly-woven compact poem. Your style brings to mind the masters like Dom Moraes, Stephen Spender and R.S. Thomas -whose poems used to be my staple diet in college years. Five stars, for you and your inimitable style. Keep surprising us.
Cheerz!

Mike Davis said...

Hi Gautami,

Thanks for stopping by today.

For poetry critiques, you really should give www.thenextbigwriter.com a try. I know the poets there get a lot of input on their works.

Good luck!

Mike

Christine Swint said...

The hand in all its intricacies, all the nuances of touch... very well done, gautami!

Anonymous said...

Hi Gautami,

I like the idea of your hands holding the universe.

Rose

xo

Anonymous said...

I also had to re-read and make sure you were talking about rubbing vaseline on your hands. Nice tease there, and well written as usual.

Linda Jacobs said...

I'm addicted to Vaseline! I use it on my lips, though. I totally identified with this poem!

MsT said...

Such beautiful imagery - starting with such a strong line. Just lovely.