Tuesday, June 14, 2011

hostage


















Twists of feminine
spayed from virgin beds

taken as slaves
briny objects

of lust and remembrance
to line window sills

strut garden runways
far from the rhythm

and slosh, the churning
womb of sand, landlocked

as a milk-wagon horse
cold as any stone



Tess Kincaid
June, 2011



100 comments:

  1. I have no idea what this means, but the sound and imagery make it so delicious, so wonderful, that I don't care!

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  2. I feel for the shell! Beautifully written.

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  3. This is absolutely stunning I love the way you write! I was just looking at this image thinking what am I going to do with this shell lol

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  4. So beautiful, stirs longing for my sea bed! Waves splashing their final breath about my toes. Beautiful shell and beautiful words!

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  5. Womb of Sand! Wow! Love that!

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  6. Milk wagon- and a half draft, Thanks.

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  7. Why DO we collect shells! They're beautiful objects, of course. But I imagine there's something more primeval about them.

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  8. Cro, yes, something of the Divine Feminine which makes us crave them.

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  9. More on the feminine archetypes. This is good. Are you reading Amanda's "Goddess in the Dirt" posts?
    We used to keep shells — from places where we lived and to which we travelled. Pure objects, imprisoned in our "high and dry" home.
    But no place for them in our smaller den. Sadly.

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  10. Rob, I must go read Amanda's posts. Seems we are on the same wavelength with thoughts of the divine feminine.

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  11. One of my favorite things! I live in the desert but have shells everywhere. Large glass jars filled with shells we've collected on our travels sit in my dining room. "churning womb of sand" - delicious!

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  12. Let me assist those who seem to have lost their way.

    The shell, which resembles a nipple has been taken from an undisturbed piece of sandy beach. Briny, it becomes a slave for the enjoyment of humans who want to remember their vacation lustfully by lining their window sills or garden paths.

    No longer does the shell live where the rhythm of the waves splash and churn from its womb of sand, but now is in a foreign place, like the horse used to pull a wagon for delivering milk and so is cold as stone.

    A masterpiece.

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  13. Thank you, Winston. QED, my friend.

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  14. perfection - Your piece! As a small child my mother and I found the tiniest sea shells far out in the Mohave desert. For years they lived in a small apothecary jar and were placed in the kitchen window.

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  15. that shell carries as much life in death as it did before...a home to someone once...

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  16. That you can take something so simple and make it profound always amazes me. I love taking shells "hostage"; shells and sharks teeth. :)

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  17. Beautiful imagery, Tess, I agree with you, I feel for the landlocked shells.

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  18. or feel for any one or thing removed from its natural or beloved habitat. Marooned somewhere foreign to decorate and amuse. interesting theme on this shell. well said.

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  19. Well I never thought of shells that way, but of course.

    It's a gorgeous photo this week, by the way. They are always wonderful, but this one, wow.

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  20. Now I feel badly for my shells! I will be more respectful in the future, and leave them in their watery home. They must be so sad.

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  21. Lovely, Tess~ I especially like this:

    taken as slaves
    briny objects


    of lust and remembrance
    to line window sills

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  22. Love the inner pulse of this..it carries me...

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  23. should I feel guilty for all my hostages? What a wonderful piece=brilliant!

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  24. well thanks a lot, tess - now i feel like a shell-exploiter ;) leave it to you to make something really different out of this prompt. do i have to release my shell collection back to the sea now? (oh wait, they're dead. seriously, i can never bear to take the live shells...)

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  25. Oh, no, please, by all means, keep your wonderful collections. I am a lover of stones and bones, myself. The manor is strewn with them.

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  26. ...o yes, not a perfect place for a beautiful sea treasure like this... but only to suit a pleasure this lovely treasure was taken away from its home where it truly belongs... this is indeed an admirable piece of yours.. thanks for a wonderful read.(:

    Good day... [good night here..!!!:)]

    ~Kelvin

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  27. Very beautifully woven.. Seems the conch spoke for itself!

    Oh yes.. I have a huge collection of these and yet crave for more..

    Hugs xoxox

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  28. Ah, Tess, you've made it sound sinful to rip those shells from their environs! Nice construction!

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  29. Simple beauties, delicate, yet briny... captured and held for the pleasures of another.

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  30. They are never as lovely as when they are in their natural environment but still we love to collect them. Beautiful writing:-)

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  31. I enjoyed all but the sound of 'slosh' - too easy to associate that with being drunk, rather than the 'sloosh' or even 'shoosh' of an ocean... But the
    'briny objects of lust and remembrance to line window sills,
    strut garden runways' was magic!

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  32. Jinksy says it for me too.
    Magical, almost 100%

    I also liked that the timelessness, the eternity of the creation of a shell comes through in your poem.

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  33. Tess this piece is so unique and mysterious. Love it!

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  34. Simplicity mated with exotic
    veracity is always a honied
    moment, and this piece simmers
    with both those truths and a
    sliver of sadness. It is like those
    signs in national parks warning us
    not to take hostage rocks or wood
    art. Love your line /far from the
    rhythm and slosh/ for we all came
    from the sea, from the embrace of
    salt, from one womb or another.

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  35. Wonderful, Tess!

    Reminds me of Joni singing "anima rising:"
    http://jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm?id=105

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  36. Oh! to be that shell..no mortgage, no insurance, no TV, no COMPUTER!? WAIT a MINUTE here, no computer???

    After all, maybe
    I'll be just me.

    REALLY well-depicted; earthy, in spots illusionary, LOVED it!

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  37. Almost primal, this urge to collect shells. Your poem is perfect.

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  38. Beautiful poem. It has me wanting to return all of my seashells back to the ocean! I feel like I've done the girls an injustice somehow.

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  39. Oh, this is so beautiful, Tess. Haunting and intelligent.

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  40. You made me look at the shells on my windowsill and wince. Well done!

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  41. I'll never look at a sea shell the same way again...
    very nice Tess!

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  42. Willow,
    Smooth as silk the rythmic flow of the sea and your words... a mantra to meditate to.
    rel

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  43. this one leaves you breathless...wonderful

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  44. Gorgeous, Tess! Ahah, yes, I wasn't sure that it was a shell. Great prompt.

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  45. Very impulsive written and shells enclose the secret of life.

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  46. a song of sympathy for a seashell...miles from home
    then we place them to our ears to hear the hymns of the homesick
    " I can hear the ocean"

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  47. Very touching, great imagery, Tess!


    I spent the better part of the evening writing about the original purple the Phoenician produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of sea snails. Knowing how that color came about made me feel real empathy for those poor molluscs!

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  48. Tess--Again, thanks for Magpie Tales.

    The last two similes--sheer perfection!

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  49. You make me feel so glad I made mine an artificial mollusk. Powerfully written, Tess.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  50. Wonderful vocabulary and so descriptive. Pleasure to read.

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  51. the churning
    womb of sand

    Wonderful imagery in this brilliant piece!

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  52. That was wonderful. I love listening to you read. Ty :) E

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  53. Quite beautiful, Tess — tight, spare, crisp, and thought-provoking.

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  54. Tess -- Clue: seashell in the photo. To each its own meaning. I was on top of meaning until I reached the milk-wagon. Nifty poem -- barbara

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  55. I once brought a seashell home only to discover the creature was still living in its little home! I drove back to the beach because I couldn't bear the thought of killing it, hahaha.

    After reading this, I'm sure glad I did! :)

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  56. I guess you could use one more comment. I think you should be a poet. Just a hunch. Beautiful work btw, outstanding in an invertebrate-exoskeleton kind of way. Actually your words and thoughts flow masterfully and transmit such emotion; for a shell. Great work.

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  57. Thank you, dear readers, for your kind and generous comments. You make posting my poetry so very rewarding, my friends. You are the best. x

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  58. aha...glad you included the picture, but the words are delish...going shell hunting very soon, dipping the old toes into the warm carribean sea...will bring back pics and memories.

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  59. tess this house is scattered with shells. i'll see them differently now. steven

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  60. Funny, we both said much of the same thing, but yours felt the way I wanted mine to....my arsenal of words needs to be rebuilt for sure. Gorgeous shell, absolutely gorgeous words, Tess.

    - Dina

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  61. I find myself longing to go to the beach to gather some hostages - but after your poem I would probably just throw them back :)

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  62. 'taken as slave' such powerful imagery, as though taking home the shell from the sea shore is imprisoning them in a place they dont belong, just so you can regard their beauty!... we were always told never to take anything from the beach... lovely poem x

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  63. Wow - love the images, and the closing lines of this.

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  64. I caught the feminine in this image and I love how you played between the sea and woman.
    Gorgeous piece.

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  65. Another Tess beauty......(and I loved Steve E's comment!

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  66. Tess...really liked this one both style and substance. As usual, you are a master craftsman (which I hope you take a a compliment). Whatever beauty a thing might have out of its element is a pale shadow of its beauty in its element. Great stuff. Vb

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  67. The true purpose of poetry... To make us see, truly see. You always do that.

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  68. Incredible ... of course.

    I saw "Darling" with Julie Christie today. Do you know the film? Your poem resonates perfectly. Wow.

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  69. I love shells -- but could never collect and boil out the little critters inside the way my mother-in-law did. She was probably responsible for the near extinction of several Gulf coast varieties.

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  70. Who will pay the ransom M'lady? We are all hostages to time. Nice one mate!..Cheers!

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  71. Reya, I wasn't familiar with the film, but just checked it out on IMDb and it does seem to fit in perfectly with this poem. Adding it to my Netflix queue. Thanks!

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  72. love this, with its own music, my favorite kind of poem

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  73. Hey Tess..
    Amazing take.. feminine.. loved it

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  74. OMG, I am totally not kidding. Bought beads made of these exact shells today, to put on the ends of a scarf I just made for someone. KISMET.

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  75. Cold as any stone... what loss.

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  76. Tess you never cease to amaze and inspire me. The Shell is my symbol for the sea and solitude and soulfulness!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    I have an amazing Giveaway from the Artisans at Novica. You will love it!

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  77. ... "the churning womb of sand." Loved that. This one is hard for me... I'm thinking, thinking.... :)

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  78. I believe I'll tell you what a great poem this is a second time because, one, it's that good, and two, I have a new poem:) Thank you.

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  79. Interesting, even If I can't unerstand all, you know my English is not so good to understand nuances or implied feelings.

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  80. Thank you for the prompt, Tess, and for the time and effort that clearly you devote week by week to Magpie Tales and its followers. This is appreciated. And as always, love to read your poems.

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  81. Brilliant stuff Tess - but it could only be. Notches on the gun.

    Anna :o]

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  82. Nice woven tail over the shell, waving your words around it.

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  83. "lust and remembrance to line window sills" -- what a beautiful way to describe longing.

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  84. there's so much to learn from your art of poetry writing. thanks.

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  85. Wondrous, Tess. This poem gave me a full body chill of emotion.

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  86. Beautiful poetry over here, a great blog in general. I.ll surely be back to read more. Nice to stumble upon Magpie Tales :)

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  87. my my my! What beautiful imagery, Tess... lyrical and oh so song-like...

    your wordplay really took me places deep inside the soul of that little conch.. *sigh*

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  88. A shell of virgin rights. Guarded with tenacity following motherly advice but given away easily with innocent declaration of love.

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  89. ow Miss Tess your visit to check what i wrote about this picture on my blog is very much appreciated.

    that is really something for me. that i think is my first poem (if it can be considered one, LOL!) in my entire life...

    JJRod'z

    ps... i'm up for my next try...

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  90. Dear Tess: Simply brilliant conceptual theme incorporating the idea of the Divine Feminine. A shell can embrace much more than simply a shell; rather a iconic image is the alluding allegory of how women through the ages are like shells held "Hostage" by our whims and wanton disregard of all things feminine. The energy needed for the once nuturing shell is in its natural environs...not dragged without ryhme or reason underneath the milk wagon. Love the Pioneer themed imagery here; getting lots of sepia thoughts here!Excellent!

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  91. Chicco, I love it when my readers can peel back the layers and really enjoy my poetry to its fullest. Thank you, my friend.

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  92. Imperiled by life on land and yearning for simpler times and climes
    do jellyfish have nightmares?

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