I mistake it for
a clever game,
a kind of spoonerism,
switched letters
meant to lay cool
in your dry wit;
my mind plays tricks,
vowels shoot like spit.
Three well-hammered words
catch me from behind,
thrust tall, straight-up
without stammer.
tk/March 2012
Listen to the talented R.A.D. Stainforth read this poem:
image by Sarolta Ban
Nice poem. Loved reading it. Thanks for the opportunity to paint the image.
ReplyDeleteElegant! :)
ReplyDeleteElegant! :)
ReplyDelete-vowels shoot like spit-
ReplyDeletelove that line, Tess, wish I'd written it..a great write:)
Vowels shoot like spit, and spoonerisms. And yet I hope the three words are "I love you!"
ReplyDeleteK.
Somehow that picture prompt is just asking for tricks of the mind to be played.
ReplyDeleteI thought the three words might be "Where's my hat?"
ReplyDeleteYou're trying to make me THINK again, and I haven't even had my first glass of wine of the evening.
ReplyDeleteoh, I love this artist..thank you for introducing me to her
ReplyDeleteha! we don't spit..I love you
rather...go to hell
i rather like that
terrific thought provoking poem
now to see what my brain sees in this image!
That image is haunting. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteAwesome...!
ReplyDeleteobscured
I am rather caught in the straight up words thrust without stammer, three words well hammered having been connected in the situation for a while.
ReplyDeleteI wear a fedora myself, a cheap and crushable hat that springs back to shape no matter what, so old now that it has faded in color from dark olive to a pale shade, with skin oil and sweat stains on the brim at my forehead. Oops. Now I get where to go...
Noirish, tk.
ReplyDeleteLove it.
Thanks for the intro to Sans.
~p
"well-hammered words" can drive the point home.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Tess!
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
I choose the words, 'ART IS HERE' because it dances among the shooting vowels, the clever games and the switched letters. It lies in the prompt, which reminded me of you Tess and it shines "straight-up without a stammer." through out Willow Manor. Thank you for sharing your art and love here, each Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda...it's my small way of contributing to this lovely creative community...all of you make it possible...
ReplyDeleteWow, that is tight, Tess! I really like these lines:
ReplyDelete"lay cool
in your dry wit"
"vowels shoot like spit"
And this gave me chills:
"thrust tall, straight-up
without stammer"
Seriously, this is so good!
~Shawna
rosemarymint.wordpress.com
smiles...i love the way you use words...spoonerism and vowels like spit def hit tess....
ReplyDeleteWell, I had to google spoonerism. Thank you for teaching me something new. Someday, I will have a grand vocabulary, all thanks to poets. I like your poem, especially in a British accent !
ReplyDeleteYou had fun with this ! thanks-
ReplyDeleteThe Reverend William Spooner ... an Oxford don and a shining wit ...
ReplyDeleteDeep! I like it, but will have to read it again.
ReplyDeleteGreat write. It is a lovely image and your prose did it well. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, lovely! 3 well hammered words and no stuttering, :o)
ReplyDeleteAn interesting poem. I see different things in it the more I read it.
ReplyDeleteI am with briian on this one, I liked it Tess, thank you
ReplyDeleteI think the 3 words would be:
ReplyDelete"Have we met?"
Your piece takes us several
places beyond the obvious,
ad per kincaid-usual.
Oh to be focused enough
to function "straight up
without stammer."
The 'three well hammered words' was just brilliant. Leaving them unsaid provoked lots of debate, a measure of a poet's anticipation of involvement!
ReplyDeleteHank
Indeed, there are always three, and so there is here . !. Beautiful poem .
ReplyDeleteTess,
ReplyDeleteThis is one of your best. Clean, straight, suggestive AND structured around a conceit. Love the wording and economy!
Trulyfool
Vowels shoot like spit...that seems to be the problem when I record my own work...great piece!
ReplyDeleteWell done!
ReplyDeleterel
Spot on! :-)
ReplyDeleteNice work.
ReplyDeleteDear Tess: Loves over the moonerisms~ The three little words I LOVE YOU...lots of towels dare. (vowels there). Fun schtick...oh now there is the Schticky..I can see how this would carry one away (tarry on the way)
ReplyDeleteI R U...those three little words, said as elective affinity, straight up, standing tall, stammering not.
ReplyDeletemagic can be found in those 3 little words!
ReplyDeleteThis photo does call for a little word play.....love what you did with this Tess! :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat poem! Intense.
ReplyDeleteMe, I try to dodge spit - with or without vowels... Ha Ha!
ReplyDeleteI love that title...it really added to the feel of your poem.
ReplyDeletevowels shoot like spit.!!!.....love....smiles
ReplyDeleteI love listening to Stainforth read your poems after I have read them, to see if he hears it in his head the same way I do.
ReplyDelete=)
the void of definition here is taunting almost....sort of a "fill in the blank" feeling
ReplyDeletethanks for the venue Tess
Peace ☮
Also a fan of those spit shot vowels...and the clever play on Herr Goethe. Very very well "hammered." Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCool...:-)
ReplyDeleteA VERY clever game! Brilliant, in fact.
ReplyDeleteIn a word: cool! I love this.
ReplyDelete@Sue Here's a tip for you ... I memorize the poems before I read them, after writing them out on a piece of paper I keep in my coat pocket for a few days ... they are good to read aloud (or in your head) ...
ReplyDeleteThank you R.A.D. ...I think you know my poetry better than I do...
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for your kind and most generous comments, dear readers. You make sharing my stuff so very rewarding. You are the best.
ReplyDeleteTop-notch writing!
ReplyDeleteI like the hard edges to this poem. It has a film noir feeling.
ReplyDeletesmart and creative. pleasingly succinct.
ReplyDeleteI've come back to read this several times. I love your playful way with words. Still trying to figure out what I think the "three words" may be!
ReplyDeleteSo unique, Tess, with surprises like "spoonerism" and "vowels shoot like spit."
ReplyDelete(Great reading too.)
Clever word games, designed to trip one up . . .
ReplyDelete