Monday, March 5, 2012

Elective Affinity


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

58 comments:

  1. Nice poem. Loved reading it. Thanks for the opportunity to paint the image.

    ReplyDelete
  2. -vowels shoot like spit-
    love that line, Tess, wish I'd written it..a great write:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Vowels shoot like spit, and spoonerisms. And yet I hope the three words are "I love you!"

    K.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Somehow that picture prompt is just asking for tricks of the mind to be played.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I thought the three words might be "Where's my hat?"

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're trying to make me THINK again, and I haven't even had my first glass of wine of the evening.

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh, I love this artist..thank you for introducing me to her
    ha! 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!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That image is haunting. Awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 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.

    I 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...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Noirish, tk.
    Love it.
    Thanks for the intro to Sans.

    ~p

    ReplyDelete
  11. "well-hammered words" can drive the point home.

    ReplyDelete
  12. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you Linda...it's my small way of contributing to this lovely creative community...all of you make it possible...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow, that is tight, Tess! I really like these lines:

    "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

    ReplyDelete
  15. smiles...i love the way you use words...spoonerism and vowels like spit def hit tess....

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well, 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 !

    ReplyDelete
  17. You had fun with this ! thanks-

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Reverend William Spooner ... an Oxford don and a shining wit ...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Deep! I like it, but will have to read it again.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great write. It is a lovely image and your prose did it well. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, lovely! 3 well hammered words and no stuttering, :o)

    ReplyDelete
  22. An interesting poem. I see different things in it the more I read it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I am with briian on this one, I liked it Tess, thank you

    ReplyDelete
  24. I think the 3 words would be:
    "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."

    ReplyDelete
  25. The 'three well hammered words' was just brilliant. Leaving them unsaid provoked lots of debate, a measure of a poet's anticipation of involvement!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  26. Indeed, there are always three, and so there is here . !. Beautiful poem .

    ReplyDelete
  27. Tess,

    This is one of your best. Clean, straight, suggestive AND structured around a conceit. Love the wording and economy!

    Trulyfool

    ReplyDelete
  28. Vowels shoot like spit...that seems to be the problem when I record my own work...great piece!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dear 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)

    ReplyDelete
  30. I R U...those three little words, said as elective affinity, straight up, standing tall, stammering not.

    ReplyDelete
  31. magic can be found in those 3 little words!

    ReplyDelete
  32. This photo does call for a little word play.....love what you did with this Tess! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Me, I try to dodge spit - with or without vowels... Ha Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I love that title...it really added to the feel of your poem.

    ReplyDelete
  35. vowels shoot like spit.!!!.....love....smiles

    ReplyDelete
  36. I 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
  37. the void of definition here is taunting almost....sort of a "fill in the blank" feeling

    thanks for the venue Tess

    Peace ☮

    ReplyDelete
  38. Also a fan of those spit shot vowels...and the clever play on Herr Goethe. Very very well "hammered." Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  39. A VERY clever game! Brilliant, in fact.

    ReplyDelete
  40. @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) ...

    ReplyDelete
  41. Thank you R.A.D. ...I think you know my poetry better than I do...

    ReplyDelete
  42. Thank 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.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I like the hard edges to this poem. It has a film noir feeling.

    ReplyDelete
  44. smart and creative. pleasingly succinct.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I'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!

    ReplyDelete
  46. So unique, Tess, with surprises like "spoonerism" and "vowels shoot like spit."
    (Great reading too.)

    ReplyDelete
  47. Clever word games, designed to trip one up . . .

    ReplyDelete

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