Saturday, August 14, 2010

coupling


Valves thread slick,
smooth, twisted,
heady at the screws;
fluids rush wide, burst
inside a mutual aqueduct.

Nipples, elbows, flanges
fuse, adapters bow hot,
melding raw tongues and grooves
of male and female tanks.

Familiar fittings of lips,
traps, pipework rusted
in a time-locked core; patina
of trusted copper oxide.

It would take
more than a plumber’s saw
to disengage us now.




Tess Kincaid, August, 2010



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100 comments:

  1. A wonderful affirmation of a unique relationship! Very clever!

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  2. LOVE it!! I love how you make something so cold into something so soft and warm, by using two things we all can identify with on sight.

    :)

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  3. I'll never look at rusty pipes the same again!

    I read a comfortable familiarity between the two.

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  4. That was great. Of course!, with all my licking of metal, I should've headed toward the sensual!? And here I am thinking about death. Huh...very clever, you are.

    - Dina

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  5. '...patina of trusted copper oxide' in that aging bond is something truly beautiful.

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  6. Very clever composition. Cold water from the outside, perhaps?

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  7. A WONDERFUL use of picture and words!
    A very talented woman you are! XOXO

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  8. That's wonderful, willow. Love the
    ...fluids rush wide,
    and burst inside
    and
    melding raw tongues
    and grooves...

    Was taking photographs of cast-iron drainpipes myself a few days ago. You have taken them to another level.

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  9. Excellent. Fantastic use of plumbing accessories.

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  10. Willow, how fortunate you are to have received such good responses to your rather sexually overt but clever coupling plumbing poem.
    You must give me the secret of how to keep the sexually disturbed
    bloggers at bay!

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  11. Brilliant writing, Willow! Love it!

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  12. Sensual piece and what a great take on the prompt.

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  13. Rallentanda, I do have the most excellent readers.

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  14. Another hot magpie! An most excellent conceit!

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  15. Very cool look at a lasting relationship!

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  16. Sensuous rusty pipes...amazing! What a clever blend of plumbing and sex.

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  17. I dare say you could get any plumber to fall in love with you. For some a way to their heart is food, for plumbers it's nipples and elbows and flanges and fues...oh my.

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  18. Wow, that was wonderful. I say, that one stumped me. I made a couple of false starts, and at last found a way...does that ever happen to you?

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  19. giving something inanimate human qualities - and body parts--is so creative and makes me wonder just what this poem is about :-)

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  20. you left out 'steamy fitting' but the rest is so great I'll let that pass. ;-) Love the ending. It seems rightly inevitable.

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  21. Coupling in all relationships.

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  22. Love the relationship / ancient (forever) piping analogy ..

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  23. This is marvellous, Willow. You lead us down one path and then, like the masterful poet you are, reveal a whole new one to us. Your interpretation is a delight.

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  24. your poem is so true to old pipes and fittings... just leave them alone and the work fine....but thinking they need replaced can lead down a rabbit trail of problems! :) The Bach

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  25. Melding raw tongues! Awesome. I love it! The voice works beautifully. The ending is fantastic.

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  26. AND... they look about my age! So sex in the later years is cool? LOL

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  27. Oh yes - willow - you have certainly hit the nail on the head here.

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  28. Ohhh... Sexy. Never thought I'd say that about pipes.

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  29. "a mutual aquaduct" -- exceedingly evocative...

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  30. You filthy cow! Good job you didn't mention 'sweated lead joints'! Mind you, I expect it's only the old boys who know how to do that these days.

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  31. Wonderfully written! Excellent magpie!

    -Weasel

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  32. Indeed! "a mutual aqueduct" that gets on very well through time is truly difficult to break apart.

    This is a short, more honest than unsentimental record of human bond.

    and a title so fit to string the whole piece together..

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  33. oh Willow - I love this one - and my favorite lines are...It would take more than a plumber’s saw to disengage us now...

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  34. Dear Willow, I never thought of plumbing as romantically sexual........until now that is!!

    Enjoy a happy and relaxing weekend.

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  35. This is good. Fantastic, even. How go the poetry competitions?

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  36. Wow! Hot! Where is that fire extinguisher! XX

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  37. I love the way you make these rather homely pipes sing with passion

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  38. I agree with Violet, you give rusty pipes a whole new meaning! ;-)

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  39. Yep that is our story. Rusty, stuck together for life for sure. Rich greenish and blue patinas. No leaks, no holes just hanging together for dear life. All the gunk and toxins just pass on through.After 50 years for sure, nothing, but death, can unscrew these fittings now.
    QMM

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  40. No doubt. Maybe dynamite, or my personal favorite, sweet talk, would do the trick.

    I see you watched Love Me If You Dare! Cooooooooooool :-)

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  41. HEY! THIS is really GooooD!

    Even the plumber cannot separate. And if HE cannot, who can??? I think you were already stuck on each other...

    An IMAGINATIVE play on words throughout...magical, almost! LOVED IT: "tongues and grooves"...OH My!

    And: FLUIDS ..BURST..MUTUAL..DUCT!!!

    I'm gettin' OUT of here!--grin!

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  42. I might need a cigarette now!

    Very hot!

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  43. Such clever use of language. Such visual imagery. I'm in love.

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  44. Wow...that is some HOT sex you have going there! Keep it up. The relationship will never get rusty, unlike these pipes!

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  45. Wow. If I smoked, I think I would have had a cigarette at the end of this particular piece. Very well written, erotic and tasteful.

    The plumbing section of hardware stores will never be innocent in my eyes again.

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  46. blowtorch comes to mind...they can be very sexy too.

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  47. Amazing what can result from some rusty old pipes, Willow! Very good!

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  48. At a risk of sounding cliche...that was awesome! Such symbolism...only you could turn this image into passion!

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  49. whew--hot,hot,hot---as a number of your readers have mentioned, I will never look a pipes in the same way! c

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  50. Ooo... I like sexy. i liked the ambiguity, very nicely done.

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  51. I know that some of these are plumbing terms..you sure made them sexy!! Terrific!

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  52. That is so different and clever
    You've got talent..yvonne

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  53. Amazing! Beautiful metaphors, how clever.

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  54. Willow you have such a wonderful talent....I always enjoy the poetry that you write. It is no wonder you have such an army of followers! :-)

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  55. Dear Willow: I will never look at pipes the same way again, thank-you. Plumbing sounds so sexy now. No wonder the plumbers pants are always half way up their "adaptor"s tailpipe. It all makes perfect sense. The analogous is so much fun! Love this "semi sort of soft erotica" "flanges fuse" or "bow hot adaptor bow" especially those "melding raw tongues and grooves".Yep still got it; sexy poetry. Mmmmhmmm.

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  56. My stock joke is that, back in the day, I was a plumber's helper. I cannot tell you how much I love your sexy romp through the "tools of the trade," so to speak. My favorite bit: "rusted in a time-locked core, patina of trusted copper oxide." You made my wife blush, btw, which IS saying something ;-)

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  57. Unexpected, crazy sexy and delightful. 'Nuff said.

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  58. A mutual aqueduct.

    Come on Willow, that is BRILLIANT!

    I love this piece.
    Thank you so much for sharing.

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  59. Love this and I'm really not crazy about poetry, who'd have thought plumbing could be so erotic.

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  60. Wow Willow, I so enjoyed this. Just wonderful!

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  61. Very clever Willow!

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  62. Sexiest poem about plumbing I've ever read!

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  63. What a comparison! Very strange and sensual at the same time. How great!

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  64. Dear Willow,
    I never thought the rustry pipe could be so deliciously delightful. Pulsing with life!

    This week I decided to take a break and absorb all the lovely takes on your prompt.

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  65. Who would have thought rusty pipes could be so erotic? You are magic with your words.

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  66. Hi! Willow,
    This poem is infused with visual imagery. I can just imagine the difficulty a plumber will have disengaging the two...coupling.
    Thanks, for sharing, both the poem and the netflix suggestion.
    DeeDee ;-D

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  67. Lovely, lovely..!

    Finding so much love and beauty in the pipes - your creativity and vision delight me and inspire me to see the world with new eyes!

    thank you!

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  68. Maybe that's why I have not been too successful at coupling. I should look for a plumber!

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  69. I notice that you have a liking and a skill for tasteful sensuality.
    I could say something really clever...or just leave it up to you.

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  70. Willow, you need to sell this one to the HALLMARK company for the big anniversaries!!! The three last lines---perfection!

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  71. You are the master of your own game! Wonderfully sensual...

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  72. that is a steamy magpie...i will never look at a rusted pipe the same way again....Great Magpie...bkm

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  73. This is absolute brilliance!!
    The poem, the imagery, the words, and interpretation. True brilliance!

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  74. most excellent willow...ah the beauty of risting together into a solid piece...smiles. nice mag!

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  75. this is so brilliant.
    so many ways to keep going with cheeky metaphors.
    I will refrain.

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  76. I meant cheesy. Although I guess cheeky is a fit too:)

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  77. Whew! That was...steamy ;)
    Great stuff!

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  78. I never realized plumbing could be somewhat erotic.

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  79. ohh, that was worth another read, perhaps another again! I like your take on the familiar fittings.
    Whew!

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  80. That is almost dirty but good real good.

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  81. Wowww... this had some raw beauty to it!
    It was fantastic!!!
    "It would take more than a plumber’s sawto disengage us now." -- WOW!
    A fab Magpie, Willow...
    Kudos..

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  82. I missed this one Willow; I was celebrating 23 years of marriage with my hubby in London (thanks your well-wishes!) ~ couldn't help but think of our own relationship while reading this one. To me there's nothing sexier than a relationship with a little patina!!! ;-)

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  83. Living in Germany, I wholeheartedly agree. Celebrating #33 this week at WM!

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  84. Oh the fittings and workings and patinas of us humans. It's fun, and beautiful.

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  85. Thanks, bloggies, for all your wonderful, generous comments. It's always such a pleasure to share my poetry with you. You're the best. xx

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  86. Fantastic! "it would take more than a plumbers saw to disengage us now" - very earthy!

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  87. Ah, the wisdom in your witty words! A week of anniversaries, it seems, as we celebrated our 24th.

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  88. Very nice, especially the flow of it and the ending again, short, sharp, definitive.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)