Monday, November 28, 2011

This used to be my old sofa




Now it has become
a love narrative
something conceptual

strangely enough
it has taken on the shape
of plump lips

I find myself compelled
to take running leaps
airborne for at least a minute

before landing
between the cushions
in the crease of your smile



tk/November 2011


R.A.D. Stainforth's charming reading of this poem:
(visit his fascinating blog Black Dogs here)



To join Magpie Tales creative writing group click here.

image:  Christine Donnier-Valentin

82 comments:

  1. nice...my boys have a thing for jumping on the sofa right now...like the comparison to lips...so comfortable and then diving between...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now it is MINE!!!! Unless Brian carried it off...if he did, he'll find me between those cushions when he tries to watch Sesame Street tomorrow morning!

    ReplyDelete
  3. lips as a sofa....amazing comparison my friend....brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  4. God. If only it could talk...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love when Stainforth almost breaks into a laugh...

    ReplyDelete
  6. So lovely. I love the running leap into the lips! As a child, I jumped up and down on mine singing songs from Broadway Musicals (or working out fear of flying monkeys--Wizard of Oz.)

    K.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tess,
    A sofa bereft,
    With only memories to
    give it worth.
    But, oh what memories it could tell
    if only its lips
    could spell.
    rel

    ReplyDelete
  8. Weaver most of my poetry is tinged with a bit of melancholy, but this particular poem is a very happy one for me...

    ReplyDelete
  9. If only its lips could spell...I love that, Rel...(oops that rhymed)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, like this very much. What great imagery.


    Melanie

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love the lips too - so many memories!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your sofa is most definitely smiling ~~~~~~~~:)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, Tess, I got a happy, sexy feeling from your script. Loved it! Only you could liken a used up couch to a pair of sensual lips.

    ReplyDelete
  14. i like the use of the title as a lead in to the poem. I discovered 'Gamma Ways' doing this, but have no idea who invented it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. sweet, romantic, and fun magpie.

    love the plump lips imagery.

    ReplyDelete
  16. ah, comfortable and sweet memories :)

    ReplyDelete

  17. Sweet, Tess.
    Like the petrified jelly bean under the cushion. 8^)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Tess, you are outshining yourself!
    The image, nailed.
    The poem. A feast.
    I am in love!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Aaah. A love narrative if ever there was one. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. some sofa#s are more sensual than others this one sounds a hotty ! thanks for sharing and the fab prompt x

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hard not to think of Salvador Dalí’s ‘Mae West Sofa’ when I read this. This is a good one. Enjoyed
    R.A.D. Stainforth's reading too. Even went to his blog and had a listen to some of his other recordings of your pieces. He certainly puts a lot of emotion/character into his readings.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Red hot it may be, but the wall called to me today! *smiles*

    ReplyDelete
  23. This creativity Tess is stunning. I so love this poem. My son was home this weekend and helped me eliminate half the words. :) And I think my poem reads better for it.

    Thanks for the inspiration once again!

    ReplyDelete
  24. poor old couch- all the happy times now abandoned

    ReplyDelete
  25. Jim, Stainforth is amazing...he adds a powerful element to my poetry with his excellent readings...after all, poetry is meant to be heard...

    Dali's sofa did come to mind when writing this piece, by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  26. A love affair of a different kind. Excellent.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I guess sofas can be behemoth,
    and love seats more demure.
    I see a love seat when you say
    sofa; probably because your
    wistful and playful sexuality
    is capable of turning food into
    porn, and inanimate objects
    into lusty participants. This
    piece did make me smile;
    no real sadness here, all reds,
    and pinks, burgundy and orange,
    with dashes of ochre.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Love those sofa lips! Much better than a potty mouth - haha. Sorry, another fine poem!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Love the happy images this poem and photo evoke! You've got me smiling.

    ReplyDelete
  30. love this - like lips - very cool image

    ReplyDelete
  31. i loved this, the image, your words everything..x

    ReplyDelete
  32. We do get fond of old sofas and things. I'd have have a bounce on her myself, too!

    ReplyDelete
  33. a bouncy poem for a bouncy sofa.

    ReplyDelete
  34. new sofa, old sofa, onward and forward, what adventures await?

    ReplyDelete
  35. the photo feel poignant and sad to me. with your poem though, it is turned into something magical and fun.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Love the idea of lips and a smile....my kids used to love to take running leaps to the sofa....something I both miss and do not rolled into one. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Tess! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Really. How do you do it? Write poem after poem after poem of stunning simplicity and clarity and image? How do you do it?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Amazing poem, from the first line until the last!

    ReplyDelete
  39. What a neat take on the picture, Tess!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thanks so much dear friends...you make sharing my poetry such a pleasure...you're the best...you really are...

    ReplyDelete
  41. Raspberry swirl lipstick ?
    or watermelon- in any case fun!
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I love the whimsical place that must have come from,the child within the woman speaks as loud as ever..Lovely Tess!
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Nice play on conceptual?

    A fine poem and metaphor Tess

    ReplyDelete
  44. I like it that is a love narrative.

    ReplyDelete
  45. "Airborn for at least a minute" is a lovely image

    ReplyDelete
  46. Words and picture in perfect harmony. Your poetry somehow makes the most complex simile into familiar territory so I end up thinking "I see where she is going with this" But you knew that ....

    ReplyDelete
  47. Lovely stuff!

    Oh what tales sofas could tell!

    Anna :o]

    ReplyDelete
  48. Who wouldn't love a poem that ends with a smile! This was simply lovely to read.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Makes me long to take a running leap - it's been years. This one made me smile today :)

    ReplyDelete
  50. Aww, I like this:
    "between the cushions
    in the crease of your smile"

    ReplyDelete
  51. Great poem. But lots of folk have laid claim to the sofa!

    ReplyDelete
  52. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  53. What a bouncy lovely image
    in both words and pictures.....

    ReplyDelete
  54. Lively, engaging, entertaining...

    ReplyDelete
  55. Love it!!! This is one happy sofa! I had fun reading this; your wording is simply spot-on!

    ReplyDelete
  56. Love this...the shape of plump lips..landing in the crease of your smile...so creative!!

    ReplyDelete
  57. Great imagination..and so romantic too! Those lips....

    ReplyDelete
  58. Dear Tess: Harkens back to the day! Compelling!

    ReplyDelete
  59. A soft place to land is always a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Jumping on the sofa, leaping into lips/smile. Lovely and fun. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Plump lips! But of course it looks like that. So great.

    I loved this prompt, Tess, and I also love your new profile pic.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Enjoyed your take on the poem. Lips.. hmm. now who'd have thought of that? :)

    ReplyDelete
  63. so glad to stop by and enjoy the ride... ".. i find myself compelled... running leaps... airborne.. at least a minute..." yeah, that's how i wanna live my life... a most beautiful tribute to the abandoned couch... miss pie

    ReplyDelete
  64. I could just see your running and jumping. Brought a big smile to my own lips. Clever and sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Ah, yes! I thought of Dali's Mae West lips sofa...

    ReplyDelete
  66. This as they say is moreish. I want to keep reading it again for no other reason than to enjoy again what I enjoyed the first time - like good chocolate.

    ReplyDelete
  67. This is very good. It reminded me of Dali's sensual red lips displayed in the Theatre Museum at Figueres.

    ReplyDelete

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