Friday, April 11, 2008

shapely ghosts---Sunday Scribblings

tumbling one after the other,
the ghosts are
spiralling out of control.
although they take various shapes,
I see mostly octahedrons-
maybe the mathematician in me
cannot escape geometry.
cooling blood heats up in no time
as concrete shapes takes the place of everchanging ones.
what is there to fear?
the self, I think, but only for a moment.
my toes curl, and uncurl
as I let go of the geometrical ghosts-
out of sight, sending them hurtling to far away land.

"turning my back, I go back to cooking, slicing onions"

29 comments:

murat11 said...

gautami:

I love the spectral mathematics, the quick-released fear, and the slicing onions. Wonderful.

Whitesnake said...

Still the tears flow.........


From the onions maybe?

Gemma Wiseman said...

Fearing the self is a highly underrated fear I believe.

Gemma

anthonynorth said...

Math and ghost?
Both ethereal, in a way. Good connection there.

Devil Mood said...

"the self, I think"

yes, reminded me of a song by Paula Cole that goes:
"and it's me that it's my enemy, me who beats me up, me that makes the monsters, me who strikes my confidence"
It's well worth listening to :)

sage said...

math and ghost--certainly not Casper the Friendly Ghost--I always equated math with the darkside, perhaps his brothers :)

J.C. Montgomery said...

Poetic daydreaming while cooking...I love the way your mind works! Well done Gautami!

Tammy Brierly said...

Tami, a geometrical ghost to questioning self to slicing onions was really clever! Well done putting a moment of self doubt in poetry.

Redheels said...

I enjoyed your post. I think you are right "the self" is the stem of our individual fears.

I like thinking we have spirts around us perhaps to keep us safe.

Anonymous said...

I love teh play of tearing eyes that happen when slicing onions and the haunting fear! great post!

World So Wide said...

The major part of the poem is about the intrusion of another world that struck me as quite horrific (in its mathematical way) and definitely created a feeling of uneasiness or fear.

So that the intrusion of the mundane in the last line is pretty much a shock.

But tears (as in some comments)? I don't get them - only by possible inference from the onions.

polona said...

self-induced ghosts are the worst kind, i think.
love the ending

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I love how you are able to combine the creative with the analytic math stuff. You're a rare talent, my friend.

Patois42 said...

Well done. I like the lightness of it all.

rel said...

gautami,
Isn't it amazing the curious images our minds can conjure up, and it takes but a step into reality to make them disappear.
good job!
rel

Anonymous said...

Interesting take on fearless. Nice ending.

Sian said...

I like the juxtaposition of the spectral and the mundane

Beatriz Macias said...

I feel the same way when writing, as I follow ghosts around and then go back to everyday tasks.

trinitystar said...

fearing who we really are ... there is a ghost within ... hmmmmmmm!

Linda Jacobs said...

I love the ethereal lines at the beginning and the grounding with the onions at the end!

anno said...

I, too, loved the line, "the self, I think" -- and self-consciousness, too, that enemy of direct and honest action. I don't think I've come across a poem about math and onions before, although given the nature of onions, perhaps I should have hoped harder... Thanks for posting this!

Lilibeth said...

yes, true, so many of life's fears are overcome by simply plodding along, doing what we have to do in the security of daily tasks. I'll tell my kids that one way of coping with the great tragedies of life is to just pick up the broom and sweep. There is always sweeping left to do.
Ghosts don't scare me, because my faith gives me strength.

DJPare said...

my toes curl, and uncurl

I love that image!

b+ (Retire In Style Blog) said...

This one made me smile. Onions will do that every time.

b

aMus said...

loved this one here...gautami...very nice...

*my toes curl, and uncurl
as I let go of the geometrical ghosts

very familiar...

Sherry said...

Fear of the self is huge...it is our greatest stumbling block...

black coffee said...

you write well. Good abstract stuff! :)

Jon said...

gautami :

I loved your poem. You write well.
Following your comment on my blog I've written a post that you may be interested in. It contains several possible markets for your work.

Tumblewords: said...

Good lines, incredibly well-connected thoughts...