26 February 2011

Simple Tools

Once again, the Sunday Photo Challenge from One Stop Poetry.

This has become a highlight in my week, a break from Latin and Greek dictionaries and professors more concerned with the form of the footnote than the content of the mind.

The Photo…

Picture-7.jpg

A Poem,

A steaming mug of coffee, black, no sugar
The sound of the fan, oscillating
Blowing away the sounds of the street
With white noise

His fingers caress the keys

This is the best part
The beginning, unknowing
What might come, what might be
The mind empty, radiant, encompassing

He takes a sip

How do atoms feel when sunlight hits them?
Shall we journey to a beach near Troy?
Describe a kiss that tastes of blood?
An action scene, always difficult?

He adjusts the paper

With such a lack of limits
It is valuable to be bound
To simple tools, for without them
We might burn ourselves with our own imaginations

Clack, clack, clack

And an Audio Version!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

stunning! i especially love these lines:

"How do atoms feel when sunlight hits them?"

"We might burn ourselves with our own imaginations"

dustus said...

What a transition after that sip of coffee! Stirs the imagination to think on molecular, historical, and murderous/sultry levels—all in a clear, brief stanza. Great write about harnessing creativity in terms of exploring possibility and not letting it run completely rampant. Excellent

Richard G. Crockett said...

I have been given to understand that in the upper ionosphere, right at the edge of the atmosphere, there is a fantastic amount of electrical activity and wild flashing wide-band effects from interaction with raw sunlight. Most of the solar bandwidth is filtered out there, so the world we see, is drab and gray compared to that.

And I have never been persuaded that 'inanimate objects' do not have feelings.

There are possibilities in that!

Thanks, dustus and haihulovesongs.

Penny said...

Loved it. This one sparkles in my mind.

Claudia said...

oh wow richard - i just love it
you manage to build up such an excitement - the best part - not knowing what might comes..shivers..
a kiss which tastes of blood...how do atoms feel when the sun hits them..? maybe just as i feel right now after reading your fantastic poem - kudos!

Kodjo Deynoo said...

"For without them we might burn ourselves with our own imagination" this I found powerful

Gigi Ann said...

Such a fun poem, I loved it, and your well thought out spaced..."His fingers caress the keys...He takes a sip...He adjusts the paper...Clack, clack, clack" that about says it all. Did I say I loved your poem today?

Thanks for your visit today.

Brian Miller said...

we might burn ourselves with our own imagination...i like that a lot...great write...now i need to get a bit more coffee...

Anonymous said...

Wild and original, love the fresh metaphors in this poem. Very impressed with what I've read on the blog too ;)

Reflections said...

Love this... slow build, the sip of coffee, and the bursting of imaginations strewing forth in the end. Well done.

that guy said...

for what is poetry without the imagery? you may as well ask me what is life without breathing...

great stuff, i feel this poem...l live this poem...

Bruce
Bruce Johnson JADIP
Evil Twin
stupid stuff I see and hear
The Dreamodeling Guy
dreamodeling!
The Guy Book
The Guy Book

Shrinky said...

My first time to your site, and what a serendipitouis dip! Loved every line, (if envied the joy expressed regards "the best part", of being confronted by a blank page - myself, I always find it the hardest, beginning) I look forward to my next visit.

Steve Isaak said...

Exemplary, showing-not-telling work. Absorbing, wow-worthy stuff.

Richard G. Crockett said...

Rather than post a bunch of comments on your comments here, I thought I'd visit all your blogs, and I have. What fine company!

Thanks for your insights, every one of them.

Helena White said...

My first visit also...He takes a sip...My morning tea is often cold by the time I take my first sip lol! Clack, clack, clack. Nice ~.^

hey you said...

Liked the reading voice. Have you done some acting?

Richard G. Crockett said...

@Jay, Thanks! Children's plays, class clown, public speaking, and art as performance art—street and stage musician, painter, chainsaw carving shows, but no formal acting.

hey you said...

Street and stage musician? What instrument? Do you sing as well? Your poetry reading sounded musical so I'm not surprised. Do you write songs? Ignore the questions. Just interested.

JackAZ Photography said...

Wonderful take on the need for limits. Great writing!

Richard G. Crockett said...

@Jay

Guitar on the street, and singing, yes, folk songs edgily re-visited, usually bass on stage while singing accompaniment to others far more talented than me.

I was not gifted with much musical skill and neither a pretty nor a strong voice, but taking my cues from Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon, I learned that it is more important to be sincere than it is to be a virtuoso.

The songs I used to write all sucked, but I am having a fresh look at my approach; i.e., I thought it was all so important and very serious. I no longer think that, so my work has improved. :)

Also, I should say that I have been quite inspired by the many poets and writers that blogging has exposed me to.

@JackAZ Thanks. Your photos provided great prompts and your techniques re-interested me in HDR photography.

that guy said...

Rick-

the street is still my fav venue. i hated the studio and while i can relate to the voice thing, i have a couple of live tapes somewhere that i must convert (one of these days) the street had a feeling that made a connection with the audience.

it was so intimate.

i was playing one day in Saugagtuck, way back when i first started the street gig, it was Memorial Day Weekend... i was going thru the chorus of a Prisoner, an original, and i opened up my eyes to see like 20 plus people standing and swaying...

the image is forever burned in my mind...

it was the day i really decided it was about the presentation, the emotion, not the quality of playing and voice.

i am firmly convinced it was the energy i was giving off, lost in song...

oops long comment...prolly could have wrote a post on this one...

Richard G. Crockett said...

Hey Bruce,

Yeah, that would make a great post, and I like long comments! It was nice to discover, in you, something really great in common, so thanks for sharing. I know exactly what you are talking about. I have had similar experiences.

The first time I heard the Ash recordings of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land," I recognized that it was a protest song, not just some grinning, happy campfire song, so I started singing it like he did; "this land is YOUR land. this land is MY land!"

People got it. It was a rush.

hey you said...

Asking Richard and Bruce,
Do you ever play the music and speak the lyrics. With a good speaking voice and a suitable song I find that particularly moving. Wouldn't know how to do it myself but love listening.

that guy said...

Rick- it is amazing that people do not get the song unit they get the artist..IMHO...

Jay-never did the spoken word song but only cuz i kinda hate my talking voice...

come to think of it, i kinda hate my singing voice, but i am also my own worst critic..

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