I shed unnecessary hair,
gather it from the drain and toss it
like a lip-stainedDixie cup.
like a lip-stained
A run-away-from-home bag waits,
ready, packed with leftover people,
dry as cracked slivers of soap.
ready, packed with leftover people,
dry as cracked slivers of soap.
I forget it on purpose, sprout fresh
castile
Not a canary to the fair-bird branch,
but bark rogue, find the woods’ deep
bosom of scrub and fern.
This time I prefer bears and wolves.
Tess Kincaid
March 2011
Would you like me to read it to you?
Would you like me to read it to you?
photo courtesy of Google images
Have you peeked in on me in my shower?
ReplyDeleteI have that same shower ritual - and I mistakenly think it means I've cleaned the whole bathroom :)
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of heading deep into the woods - it makes me feel more alert and ready for adventure.
Did you cut up some other poems and sprinkle the cuttings in your bath to make this?
ReplyDeleteNo, but seriously, I love it ...
rituals are funny things, and we all seem to have them.
ReplyDeleteThis same voice has been whispering to me lately. I think this is one of my favourite pieces of yours.
ReplyDeleteI prefer bears and wolves too. I sort of ignore the rest. It has to be pointed out to me. Maybe it has something to do with being a guy.
ReplyDeleteTess,
ReplyDeletePeople, like tub hair, need a place to be dispensed. At least for a time. At least until you get them out of your hair. At least so that they won't clog the drain. At least until you can reach the decontamination room?
Trulyfool
Truly, yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. Now, will you please direct me to that decontamination room?
ReplyDeleteLike the bears and the wolves, NONE of my hair is unnecessary! If so needed, I pack it in my runaway bag --and then forget it.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know there was a special room for decontamination. Is hair on the floor there?
Wish I knew what I'm talking about!
Well...anyway...PEACE!
...and I give my hair to the birds to build nests x
ReplyDeleteThere is some nice imagery in this one – the second stanza stands out particularly for me – but I found myself getting a little lost towards the end. I envisage someone about to leave the past behind – they literally wash off the old them (I would have included skin as well as hair) ready to step into their new life. Their bag is packed with photos which, at the last moment (perhaps because of the symbolic washing off), they realise they no longer need. Then, like I said, the imagery kinda swallows me up whole. Maybe I just need to spend a bit more time with it.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thrill of throwing off the 'old' is the prospect of what might set our senses tingling, when we're exposed to the attentions of bears and wolves. Nice one, Tess.
ReplyDeleteOh.. I like this one really well. You're giving a sense of God's regeneration creativity. :)
ReplyDeleteI feel the same sometimes, and the only remedy is to get outdoors... get my hands in the soil... walk a mountain trail... photograph the desert. When I'm outdoors the breeze wafts away the clinging detritus resistant to meditation,prayer, writing.
ReplyDeletetess - this is so good as it digs beneath the polished surface of our experiencing to reveal the simple and yet entirely intrinsic need for ritual no matter how beautiful or loathsome. steven
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful writing, Tess. I especially love the last two stanzas and how you beyond the mundane. Beautiful imagery in the woods' deep bosom!
ReplyDeleteTess -- What jumped out at me was "change." Molting, rebirth to newness, leaving behind the crackled past, off to the wildness of life. Shades of Clarissa Pinkola Estes -- her book, Women who Run with The Wolves. -- barbara
ReplyDeleteMe too.
ReplyDeleteThis is why my attempt to grow my hair long failed for the umpteenth time. It is pixie short now, and will stay that way. Less hassle and much more carefree to run through the woods and not get tangled up.
ReplyDeleteOne always needs a run away bag ready to go at moments notice ...love it ... bkm
ReplyDeleteTess so wonderful, so true!
ReplyDeleteYour poetry is just divine!
Do come and enter my Artful Offering!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I seem to have been in the midst of some of those "dry,-cracked-slivers-of-soap-" types lately myself. This one is excellent, Tess. Well done.
ReplyDelete"castile wings" so many memories that invokes. also castile mustaches.
ReplyDeletemy parents took movie footage of my brother and I in the tub (separately) with lots of soap bubbles. I am not sure if this was fun or not but there it is on the old 35mm which I had turned into VHS and now hope to turn into CD's
Interesting how prodigious you are
ReplyDeletein the last week. Poetry seems hung
in the air like a virus, always there,
and when you are ready to accept it,
to process it, it passes through you
to the page. The abstract feel to this
piece stirs several brews, not aligning'
into one scenario, not caged in one
box, this one soars, swirls, even
roars; starting off mundane and
ending up primal, with you as she
wolf gliding through the blue mists
of deep woods.
Molting huh? Is that what it's called??
ReplyDeleteA daily rebirth, that bath. I always feel a little uncomfortable if I skip it
ReplyDeleteThanks, Glenn, I blame it on that old devil moon. For some reason, I'm always extra productive around the new moon!
ReplyDelete"A run-away-from-home bag waits, ready, packedwith leftover people"
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
Yes, we all need our run-away-from-home bag... Do I sense a new direction here?
ReplyDeleteThey get better and better Tess.
ReplyDeleteLove this one Tess and I think it speaks to so many of us. Also love the "leftover people" phrase!
ReplyDeleteTo be or not to be, hold on to the drain or be hauled into the woods where the big hairy wolf has no such thoughts. Scary! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this a great deal.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. And thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeletePG
I like this, nicely written! :-)
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteYes I've grown accustomed to my run-away-from home-bag: I use it 8 days a month.
My ritual now involves the razor rather than the shampoo.
And everyday I meet bears and wolves; invigorating.
rel
Excellent!
ReplyDeleteWillow, it is lovely...smiles.
ReplyDeleteI prefer ursine and canine creatures, too! The source of stories, memories — culture, if you will.
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant, Tess. At the times when I feel that I am too small for the breadth of my dreaming, it is molting ... skin-shedding ...which allows me renewal.
ReplyDeleteIs this Willow from Willow Manor? This is Em from The Lavender Beekeeper. I was just stopping in for a visit! You're blog has changed! It looks amazing, and I LOVE your header! Good to visit again, it's been so long!
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous:
ReplyDelete"Not a canary to the fair-bird
branch, but bark rogue,
find the woods’ deep bosom
of scrub and fern."
Many of my poems come to me in the shower, why is that? :)
Reading comments from other folks is interesting because I don't think you were actually writing about a shower ritual. Wads of hair, I figure, is an alegorical reference to something far more meaningful. I go deeper. So I am sticking with my less-literal, more-abstract interpretation and yes, ma'am, I sure would like you to read it to me. I love your latest header too. You are a very fine artist, my dear. Carry on, then. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna, you are spot-on!
ReplyDeleteSuki, yes, I remember using Kirk's castile soap when I was a girl. I should buy a bar, just for nostalgia's sake, just for the scent.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind and generous comments, everyone. You make writing poetry so worthwhile. xx
ReplyDeleteVery nice Tess!
ReplyDeleteYou have me thinking...
God I love this poem .. it's airy and dirty and wild and true at the same time. "Fly to the brutal clean," indeed. A bath in wilderness. Thanks. - Brendan
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brendan, coming from you, it's a huge compliment. x
ReplyDeletenice tess...i escape to the wilds often to be cleansed....
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Definitely one that brooked additional readings - and which I did repeat, several times. Mundane bits of life given depth and power with very vivid description and detail...well-writ, Tess.
ReplyDeletea cleansing indeed...with a sense of the wild...evasive maneuvering
ReplyDeletePeace, hp
a cleansing indeed...with a sense of the wild...evasive maneuvering
ReplyDeletePeace, hp
As much as I like the tub scene (for other than poetic reasons) I was drawn to the second stanza:
ReplyDeleteA run-away-from-home bag waits,
ready, packed with leftover people,
dry as cracked slivers of soap.
The phrase "leftover people,dry as cracked slivers of soap" especially hit me. This imagery is creative genius and the vivid picture is one that defines this poem (for me) and caused me to read it several times. Beautifully done!
Tolbert, thanks for stopping in for a read and for the encouraging comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWow, preferring bears and wolves, I get that for sure. There's a lot going on here. I've been reading it over and over. I especially liked the phrases, "lip-stained Dixie cup" and "fly to the brutal clean." Lots to ponder here. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteGreat lines. Couldn't get audio player to work :( Nonetheless, appreciate how you include imagery we can all relate to, yet present it in a novel way with flair (e.g. "dry as cracked slivers of soap"—don't think I've heard that reference in a poem before; nice alliteration too).
ReplyDeleteWhoever knew, shrugging off baggage could have something to do with hair. I love the analogy!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Padmavani
Aaahhh...thus spoke the wild one!! Unleashed!!
ReplyDeleteFelt free after reading this one...
Loved it, Tess!!
Cheers to the awesomeness of nature, and cheers to freedom!!