Wednesday, December 8, 2010

rosebud


Do not ask what more I know.
Gazing in the crystal, the dark parts
grow hazy, small and indistinguishable.
Am I accustomed to midnight,
or are the memories swallowed up in white?
Dreams are shadows of reality, trompe l’oiel,
3-D. Mine were lost, back when cars had wings
and angels had halos. I am a citizen
of the human race. It sounds hollow,
but I will sleep when I am dead. Black snow
continues to fall, so hitch a sled, let's ride
tonight, since the best of times is now.



Tess Kincaid
December 2010



Would you like me to read it to you?




To join Magpie Tales creative writing group click here.

100 comments:

  1. The 'best of times' is certainly now. That I can confirm.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love it! Yes, the best of times is now, live all that you can, tomorrow is full of uncertainty and yet full of promises.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cro, unlike Charles Foster Kane's memories of his beloved Rosebud, my best of times IS now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah, Tess, you provoke such memories. This is so poignant.

    As for the first line, I would not presume to have an opinion on that. Your poetry is gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, drop the first line. I thought it was going to be about a fortune teller, not about memory and the present. It's not a bad line by any means...it's just in the wrong poem, in my opinion. There's a whole other peom waiting to start with that line.

    Whether these are the best of times or not, they are the only times we can do anything with, until they pass. Still, I think cars should have fins and chrome. I missed the chance to drive a car like that! Where are my pearls?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think it would be fine without the first line, but I don't know what you had in mind when you wrote it.
    As soon as I saw the picture, "rosebud" was the first thing I thought of.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Am I accustomed to midnight,
    or are the memories swallowed
    up in white?
    ~ devastating thought.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nima, in my case, the swallowing up of memories is a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. No leave the first line. It sets the mood for the whole poem for me. This is a very thought provoking poem and I love that last line.Isn't that why we call it "the present?"

    ReplyDelete
  10. yeah nix the opening line....
    it has a great flow from there...and even amidst the worst of times, we can make them the best of times by choosing to ride...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fireblossom, like I told Nima, for me, it's about scouring my crystal and realizing I have forgotten the dark past and am enjoying the now.

    ReplyDelete
  12. wonderful! the best time is always now---living fully--loved hearing you read the poem as well! c

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yes, live in the moment!

    Idyllic, really. Thanks for getting me in the winter spirit.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes yes and yes. Also, I like hearing you read it, thanks for doing it again. I listen first then go and read it a few times, then go through the comments to see what I didn't get and others did. I enjoy it all.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Willow, Such a life affirming comment....the best of times are now....Yes, let dark thoughts vanish into the night as one enjoys a sleigh ride in the snow in the present. Your 'Rosebud' certainly looks to be a most beautiful antique, just waiting to whisk you off into Wonderland.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Edith, I bought my Rosebud last summer at a garage sage for $12. Isn't she a beauty?

    ReplyDelete
  17. For some reason, these lovely words brought tears to my eyes. Well done Willow.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I too remember “when cars / had wings and angels had halos.” A lovely line and an engrossing poem.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I like using the well loved things from the past to enhance a present experience, it makes the two blend into one great Now.

    I'll be thinking of a new piece for this lovely prompt!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I loved this.
    It felt like a brief and wonderful conversation you have with someone that reverberates for ages.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Trompe l'oeil? Brither, did I pick up on this vibe from your prompt this week, or did I pick up on this vibe? And I wrote my offering before I came to read yours - who is gazing in the crystal ball here?!! Spooky!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Jinksy, heehee, I am sending out my potent vibes throughout the world of Magpie! Loooook into my eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I am by no means an expert, but I love the first line;)

    cheers

    ReplyDelete
  24. Yes- the best of times is now...evocative poem

    ReplyDelete
  25. How lovely to hear your voice, Willow! I don't know if you began sound recordings while I was absent under the ocean, but this is the first time I've heard.

    I'm no nexpert at all on poetry, but I do like this and it's mood is so strong.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow.
    I am blown away.
    this is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. As Yoli expressed, your poem brought tears to my eyes as well. Today! Glorious now! Embrace it!

    ReplyDelete
  28. It's perfect as it is.

    The dark parts growing hazy is how it's supposed to be.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love your philosophy, a reminder to hitch my sled and continue my "best of times" ride.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Lovely, Tess. The best of times is, indeed, now! May your "now" be blessed during the holidays and always.

    ReplyDelete
  31. "Am I accustomed to midnight, or are the memories swallowed up in white?"

    This will linger in me for a while, like a strong refrain, a haunting smell.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I live it. All we have is now, and so it's truly the best.

    ReplyDelete
  33. It is your poem, no part should be left out. I learned from Kat that the poet puts in there from her soul and we hear what is present in our sour. No revisions are acceptable if I am the writer. Love it.
    QMM

    ReplyDelete
  34. Oops that should say from our soul.
    QMM

    ReplyDelete
  35. Yes Tess, the best of times is now. Never to let up. Excellent take!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I do love Citizen Kane so. I'm having some difficulty piercing through the profound imagery of your poem. It speaks to me of death, inventively at that. A dead man's memories differ from a living man's: light and darkness changing places. A dead man talking of dreams. A man having been dead while alive, having lost his dreams long ago. There's much of irony to this piece, and the more I consider it the more I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  37. If not now, when? In our time though, one wonders!! This provokes thought..

    ReplyDelete
  38. Like how you've worked some cliches in and de-cliche-ed them by context. We go on because we have no choice, and in the end know going on is not only inevitable, but right. Great work (and reworking)--on message throughout.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I found this thought provoking piece dark even for you, Tess. And the appeal to live in the present doesn't quite extinguish the 'black smow' image. It got to me, so I am glad I wrote my piece before readng yours.
    'The wise live in today but save some for tomorrow'.
    But if you want help 'Gazing in the crystal' because 'the dark parts grow hazy' Facebook me!

    ReplyDelete
  40. 'Dreams are shadows of reality' - and thank goodness, some nights ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  41. The best of times is now; a great last line but somehow still woven with sadness. a beautiful poem.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Just lovely, both dark and light.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I have no problem with the first line either; strange how we each read a poem differently.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Very nice...from one citizen of the human race to another : )
    That was a great movie, haven't seen it in years. I can't believe you found your Rosebud for $12!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Nearly four score of commenters
    already posted in; that's what I
    get for living in the northwest
    corner of country, mired in Pacific
    coast time.
    Yes, Rosebud, was the launching
    point, and yes, your very own sled
    is gorgeous and one hopes it will
    take many an evening ride, for
    though you have no mountains,
    you have plenty of hills;
    This is another excellent effort,
    and its complexity challenges us,
    for it suggests pain in the past,
    and darkness that have been
    weathered and white washed
    with the brilliance of wisdom
    and the Now, so those crazy
    60's, when some of the older
    cars were made in 1957, and
    had non-functional wings,
    and Hallmark angels, and
    Catholic ones all sported their
    halos like bling, you seemed,
    or your memory links us to
    some part of you, to travel
    through your past as a
    cavalcade, capped by the
    /black snow/, meltdown,
    creative and nuclear winter.
    yet a wild ride on Rosebud,
    swishing through the snows
    of late Autumn, plowing on
    into Winter eminent, leaves
    us with hope, with joy at seeing
    your sad smile, your poet's and
    earth mother's resignation,
    hearing it in your voice,
    feeling it brush past us like
    a poetic missile.

    ReplyDelete
  46. "Mine were lost, back when cars had wings and angels had halos."

    Such beautiful writing, made even more beautiful by hearing you read your words.

    The best of times IS now...

    thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Tess,

    Love 'black snow'. It's the reality that poem wants to distance with its (milky?) crystal whose dark parts get indistinct, its white-swallowed memories.

    As a midnight human, you expect the 'sleep', but realize that the late night sledding, 'black' though the snow may (at least metaphorically) be, is the best, being (I infer) the only.

    Like your grab on this, halo-less one!

    Trulyfool

    ReplyDelete
  48. Dear Willow: "I am a citizen
    of the human race."

    Citizen Kane, great movie! Love the black and white imagery...A modern day publisher. Rosebud is NOW!Definitely...lets go; "let's ride tonight,...":)

    ReplyDelete
  49. "Mine were lost, back when cars had wings
    and angels had halos." A truly great line, Tess.

    ReplyDelete
  50. carpe diem for sure. The older I get, the more I realize how true that is! Great job

    ReplyDelete
  51. Great write and great read - the title drops one immediately into a parallel with the classic Citizen Kane...I do hope that was the intent! Strong flow, good philosophy.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Rosebud.

    Citizen Kane lives!

    And we have "miles to go before [we] sleep" — "sleep, perchance to dream" — in black and white, or full colour, with the angels.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I do love the last statement.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Enjoy the moment.. I have a sled just like that an painted rosebud on it.
    I now wonder about rosebud, and
    what poor Marian Davies thought about it?? LOL

    yvonne

    ReplyDelete
  55. tess my brother had a sled like this and i loved it because of the steering. see i had a toboggan. you used your feet or your hands to steer it and the ride was less sensational. i live very much in the moment but always with an eye to creating the potential for amazing moments in my future. steven

    ReplyDelete
  56. Glenn, it's always quite a treat to read your comments, my friend. They're a post unto themselves. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Thanks, Truly. "Black snow" was one of my favorite elements in this piece, as well.

    ReplyDelete
  58. So many good lines and images -- a pleasure to read!

    ReplyDelete
  59. Chris G., yes, you got it. "Citizen Kane" was the inspiration for this piece, except my Rosebud does not represent great childhood memories, like Charles Foster Kane's sled. Instead, for me, it represents the present.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Yvonne, I've been waiting all day for someone to mention the Marian Davies angle! I purposely left that element out of this piece. heehee

    ReplyDelete
  61. The best of times is now....how ture that is....another awesome poem Willow...i love it!

    ReplyDelete
  62. I am with you, my childhood memories are best swallowed up in white. As for the first line I absolutely love it. It rings clear that no matter what the memories the best of times is now. How many weeks can I keep saying that this one is my favorite. I am envious of your gift it is magnificent!

    ReplyDelete
  63. Very nice Tess, love the reading...thank you ...bkm

    ReplyDelete
  64. Don't change a thing! I was sure when I read it, then I listened to your reading and I am sure of it. The opening line is prelude to unanswered questions so just "enjoy the ride!"

    ReplyDelete
  65. while the comments have been helpful, I am still mixed on this one to be honest. I know you have received much praise, but it is not a favourite one of yours. I feel like I am being torn between pessimism and optimism and not sure where to turn.

    ReplyDelete
  66. I absolutely adore this, Willow.

    ReplyDelete
  67. I will sleep when I am dead... a definite! No time for that now, live, live, live!

    ReplyDelete
  68. 'Best of times' is always reflective of what the others might be... Such depth and still your amazing subtle references to things past and present. Great write as always.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Black snow reveals and hides so much - it triggers images both chilling and friendly. Nice piece, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Willow,
    "And so it goes."
    No time like the present to renew our memories by engaging in old revelries.
    I remember vividly "hookin'" cars on unsanded streets.
    Hookin' my dad's fuel oil truck was a mistake though, 'cause he knew and steered the truck (slowly) over a bare spot! Lesson learned, and story told.

    ReplyDelete
  71. I am a citizen
    of the human race. It sounds hollow,
    but I will sleep when I am dead. Black snow
    continues to fall, so hitch a sled, let's ride
    tonight, since the best of times is now.

    Oh dear Tess, my dearest Willow,
    If only you can imagine how this sings to me.

    Have to do some rummaging tonight for an old poem this brings to mind.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Willow,
    Great poem! It reminds me of my little statement, "Happiness is a Choice"... its so easy to get caught up into the speed of the day and forget just what we have given and live for the moment!
    :) The Bach
    Lord Thomas of Wellington

    ReplyDelete
  73. I thought the lines "Am I accustomed to midnight, or are the memories swallowed up in white?" utterly brilliant (I wish I had written them ;-). They resonate with the core of my being, which brings me to this: as for "Do not ask what more I know," all I can say is that I won't...I don't have to. Here's to riding the black snow, Tess Kincaid, for as long as it falls, as long as there is blessed night and a sled.

    ReplyDelete
  74. I will respect my body by eating appropriately and
    enjoying delicious natural food given by my creator.


    I accept things as they are and surrender
    to the field of all possibilities. All is well! <3
    I see the greatness in all situations and seek what will bring me joy.
    I was born to live a joyous life!

    ReplyDelete
  75. I like your paean to life and living now! New Snow

    ReplyDelete
  76. You have the most lovely way of bringing life to your photos with words.
    Kudos, my dear!!

    ReplyDelete
  77. Eerie and enchanting and lovely. Your poetry is consistently fresh and wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  78. You said it, Tess! We gotta start enjoying the NOW... cuz that won't be coming again.. EVER!!
    You have painted a dark but true picture with your words here, my dear.. and it refuses to go away now...

    ReplyDelete
  79. I like the interplay of white and black. Everything may not be how it appears?

    ReplyDelete
  80. Willow, I love the way you write. You have a great sense of which words to use and how to use them. GREAT economy of language. Love and Light, Sender

    ReplyDelete
  81. My first thought when I saw the prompt (Rosebud)

    You are one terrific writer.

    ReplyDelete
  82. I read this when there were only a few comments but guess I didnt comment. First line. I like it. It orients me re: crystal although possibly it is not needed.

    Black snow, reminds me of black rain and Hiroshima

    let's ride tonight hmmm several meanings. love the last line.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Suki, heehee, yes, I like that "ride tonight" has more than one meaning! :^)

    ReplyDelete
  84. I should think so Tess! Laughing...........

    ReplyDelete
  85. Truly a great memory-invoking poem. "Black snow continues to fall" is my favorite for it's irony.

    ReplyDelete
  86. swing down, sweet chariot stop and, let me ride...

    ~ Dr Dre...it just seemed fitting

    ReplyDelete
  87. Wow! I love the way you write. Living in the now is always an excellent endeavor. I wrote about this very thing after reading some of my Father's journals, on my other blog, Mystical Journeys.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Tess, I found this poem very moving. My father's birthday is the 8th, and he has been on mind all week. He is beginning to really suffer from fronto-temporal dementia now, and it is difficult not to anticipate (and worry about!) the future. It's best to focus on the here and now, as you point out -- even if there is surrounding darkness.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Now is the best of times. No more searching for better or dreading worse..now is the time to live. You've given me a battle cry this morning. Beautifully done. I'm on that sled.

    ReplyDelete
  90. glad i read this...interesting comments thread... the end was a loud triumphant shout..great read...cheers pete

    ReplyDelete
  91. A lovely swirl of words, thoughts and feelings.

    ReplyDelete
  92. "...since the best of times is now"

    What a powerful line. It reminded me to live NOW rather than in the idea of the future. Thank you for this!

    ReplyDelete
  93. I am not surre that, for me, now is the best of times. I have, never in my life, been plagued with such misfortune, poor health, and calamities. I'm still trying to keep a positive outlook, though.

    ReplyDelete
  94. "let's ride
    tonight, since the best of times is now"
    true be that!

    I love the photo prompts for Magpie.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Very special, melancholy--carpe diem!

    ReplyDelete
  96. indeed the best of times is now...and all that's passed becomes a haze...your poem inspires me to dance between the two...

    ReplyDelete

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