Friday, March 18, 2011

swashbuckle reprise














This sword drawn overhead 
grows lazy in my palm, 
as creeds melt away, 
remarkably obtuse, slow
on this road that has no turn.

The walls of my mind
are covered in hushed,
unspoken wallpaper,
a mecca, calm as gentle Jesus,
shielded by invisible memories.

My blade becomes a trowel,
a garden hoe, to till
in search of long-buried
love, the dead, who know
there is no rage in Heaven.



Tess Kincaid
March 2011




artwork by Tim Cantor

78 comments:

  1. Oh My! I wish I possessed your artistry with words Tess. Truly magnificent!

    Anna :o]

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  2. I do love how YOUR words "dance on the page" :)

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  3. Tess,
    your fountain of words
    goes to the center of it all.
    Truly amazing.

    Thank you for providing the link to Tim Cantor,
    the artwork you chose to illustrate your poem
    made me immediately want to know more about the artist.

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  4. Tremendous wording and deep thought. "The walls of my mind covered with wallpaper" and searching for the long-buried love". Your creativity is remarkable!! :)

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  5. btw.. great picture. Let's clang the swords!! :)

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  6. It is so comforting to know...there is no "rage in heaven". All the ill will and bad feelings will fall way from us as we leave our earthly bodies. The sad thing is we have to wait until then...or do we?

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  7. Beautiful Tess,
    "The walls of my mind
    are covered in hushed,
    unspoken wallpaper"
    has gone into my notebook.

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  8. I like the poem and some lines are fabulous.

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  9. My blade becomes a trowel... there is no rage in Heaven.
    Like you said on my blog post, forgiveness is the first step to healing :)
    a wonderful poem today, when ceasefire has been declared in Libya.
    As for tomorrow... I guess we just keep gardening?

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  10. Not only a beautiful poem, but an oblique introduction to the works of Tim Cantor. I'm grateful to have had the pleasure of both, on this grey afternoon in the UK.

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  11. As always -- a thoughtful piece -- enjoyed -- barbara

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  12. The walls of my mind
    are covered in hushed,
    unspoken wallpaper,
    a mecca, calm as gentle Jesus,
    shielded by invisible memories.

    This left me in awe...speechless.

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  13. oh Cicero you, Tess ... i love this ...

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  14. Remarkable poetics rising soft out
    of your childhood memories, and
    plied by your maternal instincts,
    and your loving world view. I liked
    /to till in search of long-buried love/
    which is the seed of nostalgia, the
    voice that calls to us in our dreams,
    the images that catapult us backward
    from our photo albums. We stand,
    sit, squat in the presence of a
    sterling earth mother, who delivers
    her sweet diatribes through lines
    of poetry.

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  15. What does it take to turn a sword into a plowshare? Forgiveness? Time? This poem, surely, its washes cleaning somehow enough of the heart. - Brendan

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  16. Loved this poem, especially the last lines (they bear the wisdom that only a poem can hold, only a poet can share):

    "the dead who know
    there is no rage in Heaven."

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  17. i like the way the sword becomes a trowel. do you know the Charlotte Perkins Gilman book The Yellow Wallpaper.??

    I think you can make a beautiful poem out of anything, the mark of a true poet.

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  18. Tess,

    I wish creeds would melt away.

    Or at least become, simply, gentle and without rage.

    Builders, not killers.

    Trulyfool

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  19. I'm with Terresa: I liked the last lines best of all.

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  20. Wow. How excellent is thy poem :)

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  21. Tess, this is my favourite of all your poems I have read! And that puts it up there with the best in any company.

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  22. swords, sabres and swashbuckling - you've got blades on the mind lately!

    this poem starts with a nod to damocles, a sword trimmed down to a trowel at the end. a life, sharply rendered.

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  23. I am just discovering your blog.
    Joyce and poetry in concert, nice landscape for my eyes !
    Versus

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  24. J.adore ,magnifiquement bien écrie!!

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  25. Really strong and really good!
    I'm loving the new look of your blog also!

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  26. You started the inner reel, evoked the process of turning swords into plowshares, in a most brilliant manner.

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  27. Simple but powerful! Let the mindless killings all around us come to an end. For, God knows not the creeds; not the sects;not the nations; but just love. You have put it well!!

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  28. No rage in Heaven is a great ending.

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  29. great prompt and great poem, thanks Tess

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  30. Beautiful from beginning to end. You are indeed a weaver of the poetic form.

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  31. Truly captivating!! And the winning lines are
    ".... to till
    in search of long-buried
    love, the dead, who know
    there is no rage in Heaven."

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  32. Your wonderful talent leaves me speechless. You are indeed a true poet.

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  33. Great poem, Tess, I loved the last lines, beautiful.

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  34. Love the ending..it brings peace to my heart!

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  35. Beautiful and vivid imagery... I love "unspoken wallpaper"...

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  36. Calm, peaceful... "as creeds melt away".

    The walls of my mind
    are covered in hushed,
    unspoken wallpaper


    is beautiful!

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  37. Love the message that lies deep within the soil of your words.

    Peaceful moments, peace giving creeds held.

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  38. ...so many wonderful lines...this is amazing Tess! :-)

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  39. Stellar piece. It rings with truth and sings with magic...

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  40. Hi Tess. Awesome. Your poem is treasure chest of words. Great!

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  41. Put down the swords and bring out the trowels...let the posies blooms where blood was shed!!

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  42. Beautiful thoughts on life and love.. 'hushed wallpaper'.. lovely imagery!

    cheerz,

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  43. I love this: 'The walls of my mind
    are covered in hushed,
    unspoken wallpaper,'

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  44. Unexpectedly gentle and beautiful. As I get older, I find my youthful rage and passion melting away into peace (not boredom as I feared when I was young).

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  45. Wow Tess - that was amazing. I love what you can do with words!

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  46. Well done Tess, wonderful poem, assured and sharp.

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  47. Sword as an instrument of peace .. this is wonderful!

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  48. Excellent!
    I love a powerful last line and this was powerful.

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  49. Powerful piece...well beyond my skill level to create, but not beyond my ability to appreciate. vb

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  50. Very comforting to know!!
    If only I knew the way to that perfect harmonious place.. do they allow devils.. hehe

    Loved this one!
    Hugs xx

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  51. Another fantastic piece Tess, you are amazing!

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  52. Wonderful!...hushed, unspoken wallpaper - thats so original, and beautiful, and i love the last line.

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  53. Awesome....loved the last line....

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  54. wicked good write tess...you have such finesse with your words...

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  55. Really enjoyed this poetry. Deep and introspective.

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  56. Dear Tess

    Its beautiful. I liked it so much. Thanks for sharing...


    ॐ नमः शिवाय
    Om Namah Shivaya
    http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/03/whispers-seed-and-senseless-living.html
    At Twitter @VerseEveryDay

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  57. This is just beautiful, words and sentiment. It should be required reading for every world leader!

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  58. Ah. From swords to plowshares. :-) Nice.

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  59. A unique write, full of mystery yet revealing something. hmmm Nice

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  60. I love the blade becoming a trowel. So unexpected. Thanks for sharing!

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  61. Warrior's rest. An elegant and moving elegy, Tess.

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  62. Thank you, Tess. Very intriguing.

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  63. Tess, yours is so beautiful and here I went all silly with mine. But this is what makes Magpie so delicious, isn't it?
    LeAnn

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  64. You are a true wordsmith, my dear Tess... lovely magpie!

    The subtle romanticism (although this one's about death) just leaps out of the screen...really well written!

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  65. Oh I like this, the idea as much as the imagery. I like how the sword ceases to be a weapon, but does not become useless.

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