neat and tidy inside
a virtuous bandwagon, loose
ends tied in a curly ribbon
of Pandora's hair, shiny,
spiral from open scissors.
Black-and-white paper
wrapped edges, holy
hospital corners, folded tight,
Scotch-taped to prevent gray
uncertainty and doubt.
Tagged with the devout
label "Whosoever", in a bevy
of name-calling and flag-waving,
they take the bait,
obliged to reciprocate
the oversimplified gift-pack,
bivouac of propaganda.
willow, 2010
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This is great. I enjoyed being in the words for as long as they lasted. Thank you
ReplyDeleteDear Willow, Are, I wonder, Goody Bags ever that? They always in my experience have strings attached!
ReplyDeleteI had to look up bivouac. I don't know if I feel smarter now that I've learned a new word or a simpleton because I didn't know it before...
ReplyDeleteEverton T, I heard bivouac in a movie this week and was just itching to use it!
ReplyDeleteWonderful word play here, Willow, and love the photo!
ReplyDeleteWillow, you are capturing both a mood and lots of iconic imagery here. While the title says one thing, the package addressed to "whoever" is full of well-worn phases.
ReplyDeletewow. quite the wordsmith today willow...black and white is hard when there is so much grey...
ReplyDeleteyikes... sometimes the enemy is within...that bad girl, Pandora ! Great read!
ReplyDelete:) The Bach
Captivated by this part...
ReplyDeleteholy
hospital corners, folded tight,
Scotch-taped to prevent gray
uncertainty and doubt.
Great post. "..Black-and-white paper
ReplyDeletewrapped edges, holy
hospital corners, folded tight.." Excellent.
loved reading this..as always, my friend
ReplyDeletekary and teddy
xxx
Loved "the a virtuous bandwagon" and "bivouac" -- always a delight to see where you poetic mind takes us.
ReplyDeleteA pensee that is indeed unique. Congratulations.
ReplyDeletejust saw you at farmhouse
ReplyDeleteisn't that pastry wheel a winner
glad to hear you got the dill seeds
i love just looking at them in my pantry
:-)
kary
oh my, a wonder of a read
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem, Willow, your delicately selected words flow rhythmically and stir the most vivid of imagery. My favourite part was, "loose
ReplyDeleteends tied in a curly ribbon
of Pandora's hair".
bivouac of propaganda...love it!
ReplyDeleteGreat play on words and images...love the folded paper, ..taped to prevent gray uncertainty... Great prompt as always....bkm
ReplyDeleteLove the way the words flow and sound when I read it out loud. Wonderful word work Willow.
ReplyDeleteDear Willow: Very Unique Pensee! Unlocking the recurrent imagery; deciphering the master verse, stanza by stanza is an historionic affair. Intuitively I am sensing the past; ancestry of a young girl's things in a trunk (Pandora's; trunk being possibly the religious bandwagon; a tent revival?) of old photographs, "spiral with open scissors" Cant help but think of "travels with scissors". Primpishness of the pioneer era? 2nd stanza is a Bible! 3rd stanza The famous Preacher relative of Willow fame. Reference to the Bible thus "Whosoever" as per "enter the Kingdom.. etc" considered "bivouac of propaganda" which in itself is heavy, considering "the name calling and flag waving" that goes on, after "the bait" is "take(n)". "Tagged" being The Preacher who is "devout". Am I on the correct path on this poem Willow? The personal iconography so illustrative and so amazingly considered; alway so fascinating an "unwrap". A gift of poetry! Thanks Willow!
ReplyDeleteSo much stays locked away in closed minds. Beautifully expressed, Willow.
ReplyDeleteVery creative == barbara
ReplyDeleteSo good....'curly ribbon of Pandora's hair'....the images worked for me...great!
ReplyDeleteMine better have a fuzzy hat in it. :P
ReplyDeleteTwo things that relate: I heard about a man who lived way out in the country where there wasn't town pick-up for garbage. So he wrapped it up in a gift box with decorative paper and ribbons,and someone always came driving along and picked it up! Also when I visited Elizabeth in Morocco, I went on a camel ride into the Sahara desert, over the Atlas mountains and into the night. We ended up at a bivouac, which was a circle of Berber tents, complete with carpets on the ceilings, cushioned sofas, tea in glass cups and great food.
ReplyDeletestray thoughts locked in...
ReplyDeletevery focused and striking opening...
loved the mastery of your words in telling a beautiful tale!
Stray unique blinkered thoughts - much to ponder upon!
ReplyDeleteNow I have this image of stray thoughts being put in a sack and drown at birth, just like kittens...
ReplyDeleteIf such small parcels of affection give comfort is that so bad, or have I missed the point?
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I hope I haven't missed the tea party! ;-)
ReplyDelete"Virtuous bandwagon." Love it.
You are a true weaver of words. Such skills!
ReplyDeleteI need to have another coffee and reread this.
ReplyDeletefabulous.
Your poem is filled with possibilities. And, I ask, do you want to keep the gray in or keep it out??? Oh, the wonder and the mystery!
ReplyDeleteAh, what havoc Pandora wrought. No lock was strong enough to keep her, or us, out of such a tempting box!
ReplyDeleteAlways being right is a grave burden, Willow. Great poem!
ReplyDeletehospital corners tucked holy... i love your words... i hope you might join me for imperfect prose on thursday, willow. you inspire.
ReplyDeleteI love this poem Willow. It is fun to read out loud too!
ReplyDeleteStray thoughts don't stay neat and tidy for long..else how would we explore all the grey? Thanks for "unlocking" my mind!!
ReplyDeleteVery clever, willow.
ReplyDeleteThree cheers for open mindedness, my friends, on this gray, gray day! I hope my own messy thoughts stay far, far away from the tidy box.
ReplyDeletePretty interesting ... the image of propaganda in a campground. Conjures up a lot!
ReplyDeleteYes, there's lots of layers of gift wrap to this one. Hope you all enjoy peeling back each one.
ReplyDeletei am speechless!
ReplyDeleteYes,sadly, the "virtuous bandwagon" does seem to approve of bivouacs. But we can remember what Pandora left in her box, right? And trust that that remains unlocked?
ReplyDeleteGreat poem, with much to ponder...thank you.
Absolutely right on. Great writing. Such a neat little package to entice the innocents with the propaganda.
ReplyDelete"the virtuous bandwagon".... brilliant! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, splendid, Willow!
ReplyDeleteWonderful magpie!
ReplyDelete-Weasel
Many mysteries here Willow in this wonderful poem of yours. Only you have the key to complete understanding. I've enjoyed picking the lock of interpretation, playing with the combination of clues. Intriguing, and very creative.Very much enjoyed your "Pensee Unique".
ReplyDeleteWith each read I swear I will not lose breath nor concentration encountering 'holy hospital corners,' but it catches me every time.
ReplyDeleteWillow, Your work surprises me. You have so many different types of written product. You are a writer. Yes, you are. This poem is well constructed. Your use of language helped draw this reader in...pandora, virtuous bandwagon, sctotch tape, devout... Well done!
ReplyDelete~Brenda
(I'm blocked for Magpie this week...in case you go looking...):)
Beautifully done! You've given us so much to think about here.
ReplyDeleteI like what you've done with the prompt this week. It's fun to read different interpretations of the same picture! Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteThese words are totally captivating!
ReplyDeleteI love it!
:-)
Life will never stay wrapped up tight and tidy in a box, will it? Gray matter spills out over and over.
ReplyDeleteNot a good day for me to read this!
ReplyDeleteSo many 'stray thoughts' to decipher while I ride my little motor scooter around the streets, delivering 'gift packs' of 'oversimplified' information, hoping for votes in this 'bivouac of propaganda', our national election campaign!
Love this one! Also your blog. Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteA little cryptic, a little subversive,subtle innuendo,a slight rattling of the chains..YES
ReplyDeleteLoved it from the first line . . . "stray thoughts tucked . . ." Great magpie for a great prompt.
ReplyDeletegreat Magpie, the holy hospital corners folded tight sounds like a mind made up , to its detriment - I like that the poem doesnt unravel easy for me - I'll be back!
ReplyDeletePowerful and excellent as always there, Willow. :)
ReplyDeleteTerrific imagery - love this piece!
ReplyDeletePerhaps we could have this read on the Senate floor and watch certain minds implode.
ReplyDeleteReally quite wonderful.
'bivouac of propaganda.' awesome. I love the way you string words together.
ReplyDeleteThat was some fantastic wordplay there!!
ReplyDeleteYour words NEVER seemed to stray from the theme..
Here is how I looked at it: The way you've described open-ended nature of the goings about, is really brilliant! It's all about patchworks, blame games, saving one's own (you know what)...
Wonderfully put!!!
That was some fantastic wordplay there!!
ReplyDeleteYour words NEVER seemed to stray from the theme..
Here is how I looked at it: The way you've described open-ended nature of the goings about, is really brilliant! It's all about patchworks, blame games, saving one's own (you know what)...
Wonderfully put!!!
i love the opening. well done without a doubt. thank you for sharing this!
ReplyDeletesmiles,
Oh wow. Just wow. That's an amazing poem. Your way with words and images just blew me away. LOVED the lines about black and white paper, holy hospital corners...scotch taped. Yowza that rocks. Can't wait to read more of your work. I'm pretty new to magpie, only my third week. But I've sorta gathered that you're the master of this meme? THANKS. Have met great new writers in this group.
ReplyDeleteOh my! Willow, you are a wonder with words!
ReplyDelete