Sunday, November 23, 2008

alpha and omega

howling winds almost rip at ears drums
day hides into startling night of doom
complacent gone, I listen to love songs
of the gusts of wind to swaying pines.
envious of those, assailed by melancholy
I kick out at the table stubbing my toes.
howling like the wind, I hobble around
giving a loud voice to choicest of curses.

my eyes fall on a ragged doll long forgotten
discarded now,
a silent bystander to all
alpha and omega of my early years. now it
offers comfort.
I hug it close to my heart,
smiling at its smugdy one-eyed twisted face.

'turbulent weather is perfect to revisit childhood memories'

# From my archives, dusted and .....

And do join in the Train every Monday.

26 comments:

sage said...

Nicely done, I like the combination of childhood and weather and the comfort found in what had been so important

anthonynorth said...

Ah, the storm of childhood. A great analogy.

SandyCarlson said...

I remember moments like this. In fact, I often still have them! Perhaps this is why I have kept and treasured my dolls, my mother's, and my grandmother's.

Devika Jyothi said...

I 'think' i could relate...
the feeling, i somehow missed Gautami...

For me, turbulent weather represents youth..
but yeah, at times it brings back those..fun and frolic of childhood in storm and rain :)

wishes!
devika

Anonymous said...

there is comfort in what is known from the past

Anonymous said...

I remember stormy times, too. And some of the quiet ones can be just as confusing. Such a great image of the dool from the past!

barbs.haiku said...

I have a very old Christmas ornament, a Santa doll, that once was my Grandmother's. He now looks much like your 'smugdy one-eyed twisted face' ragged doll, and yet each Christmas I carefully unwrap him and put him out with great care and I remember the many treasured Christmases of my childhood with my Grandmother. Well done, guatami!

Geraldine said...

How I also remember a long-ago doll with (in my case) eyelashes missing. You've captured the spirit of this prompt perfectly Gautami, well done!

www.mypoeticpath.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

..the raw emotinality of this poem
is attractive..many thanks for sharing this..

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

Wow! This is so vivid! I love it. :)

Edward S Gault said...

Old toys are the best friends!
This reminded a little bit of The Velveteen Rabbit.
Thank You for your poem.

Princess said...

lovely..

venuss66 said...

Thank you for sharing this wonderful post here. How are you?

Julia Phillips Smith said...

I still have my childhood doll - and she's got a 'smugdy one-eyed twisted face' too. And I love these lines:

'complacent gone, I listen to love songs
of the gusts of wind to swaying pines'

Joy Renee said...

this so speaks to my mood right now. and i could really use one of those childhood dolls to clutch at this moment especially the the baby doll that was my mother's. but alas, they were all lost in a move twenty years ago.

this was excellent. emotive and vivid and the words sing

Anonymous said...

wild weather makes me pensive and reflective too of troubled one-eyed times

Beth P. said...

gautami--
This poem feels like it came from a childlike place in you, with grown up words for the images and feelings...

Yes, turbulent weather all round...

Thank you!! And thanks for the birthday wishes--

Tumblewords: said...

perfect title, lovely words, enchanting doll child! Nicely done!

Linda Jacobs said...

Comfort comes in many forms and sounds like the narrator really needed that doll that night! Love your description of the storm!

cyclopseven said...

It is a moment, that sets the mind roll unto reverie, happily. well buttered:)

Romeo Morningwood said...

This too shall pass

Inanimate objects such as dolls are usually the starter objects to practise projecting our emotions on others. We test run scenarios to examine how we feel about things and experiement with handling various responses.

We work our way up to pets and eventually schoolmates until we get serious about imposing our will and wishes upon a significant other.

Some of us are insanely lucky and find a compromising soulmate who is secure enough in their own right that they can forgive our transgressions and tolerate our shortcomings.

We owe a debt of gratitude to those dolls & pets who put up with our fumbling...they were always far more forgiving than the genuine article.

What sort of prejudice do you have against avatars?
Are you making a statement?

Anonymous said...

i loved this post g... the gusting winds, moody weather, and..hilarious with the stubbed toes.. and then the soothing rag doll...

Jeanie said...

Lovely. Nice title too.

Art and Poetry said...

Very nice!!

anthonynorth said...

You've got a second visit from me to let you know I've got something for you on my blog.

Anonymous said...

loved this poem :)