 |
the
big zero of time
was
twisted at the waist,
to
become an eight.
An
hourglass of days,
slipping
slow from the top,
then
fast below the belt.
Is it
providence,
or a
lemniscate of fate?
I
like to think of myself as verb
and
not as object; chop-chop.
I
wait the hours;
I
empty my head of winter.
I am
frightened
by
other people’s fears,
but not of the eight,
an hourglass of days.
tk/September, 2010
R.A.D. Stainforth contemplates...
R.A.D. Stainforth contemplates...
* Figure Eight, 1952, by Franz Kline
This is perfect. "I am frightened by other people's fears" that punctuates everything this week in such an eloquent manner. Bravo, Tess.
ReplyDeleteI have to really like any poem that uses lemniscate so gracefully and describes the narrator as "chop-chop". I love the play between infinity and hourglass here. And September, as a New Yorker, is an especially meaningful month for me in terms of fears. k.
ReplyDeletePS- I may post the poem I wrote yesterday, which actually fits, although it takes the Kline in a negative way, and I'm not sure that it's a negative painting. k.
A stunning write. I especially am taken by "the big zero of time was twisted at the waist to become an eight." Brilliant.
ReplyDeletelove the hour glass references....perfect as usual..x
ReplyDeleteawesome interpretation of the subject...
ReplyDeleteJJRod'z
Beautiful twist on the eight figure, specially the last stanza ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely prompt ~
Wonderful, Tess. I especially like--
ReplyDeleteI like to think of myself as verb
and not as object; chop-chop.
-- and the last stanza.
This is gorgeous. I loved every word of it.
ReplyDeleteThe sound of this is fabulous. Twist, waist, eight, wait...
ReplyDeleteAnd love S4 and S5.
you are a verb, certainly
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Especially loved the first stanza.
ReplyDeleteQuite something, really impressing. Loved every syllable, every word, even though I have no inkling of what lemniscate is. Or is it just poetic licence? Whatever, it's all so very lovely and true. How slow time goes by at the start, and so scarily fast near the end.
ReplyDeletei like to think myself verb not object...nice....just one of the great touches in this...also like the o of time twisted...cool take tess...
ReplyDeleteOh, this is fabulous. The imagery all through this sparkles with life. I loved this:
ReplyDeleteAn hourglass of days,
slipping slow from the top,
then fast below the belt.
Infinity described, to perfection.
good word images, thoughts off the center of normal, i like that.
ReplyDelete..."time was twisted and the waist" ....
..."i like to think of myself as a verb"... you are surely a verb!
"Lemniscate" comes from the Latin lemniscatus meaning "adorned with ribbons" ...
ReplyDeleteI love that...
DeleteThanks for explaining 'lemniscate' - couldn't find it in any dictionary but now I know. Appreciated.
DeleteYou did it again... made me look up a word. I love you for that.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Come on over to my place... I just got a facelift! *wink*
I enjoyed your subtle references to the expressive linear qualities of the artwork. It all flows, moving like a verb, like you, dear talented friend. =D
ReplyDelete"then fast below the belt."
ReplyDeleteDoesn't get any truer than that.
An hourglass of days,
ReplyDeleteslipping slow from the top,
then fast below the belt.
We can almost see the movement in this stanza. Beautiful writing Tess!
Hank
Twisted and x-ed at the waist ! that was my bow tie. Enjoyed it thanks-
ReplyDeleteI envision the hour glass so clearly from your words and now that RAD has given me the definition of the "L" word, I see it too in the painting, a ribbon, a twisted "O"
ReplyDeleteeight is actually a favorite number of mine as I was born 10/8.
This twist is also a mobius strip if the center of the 8 doesnt touch.
Tess,
ReplyDeleteYou weave the ribbons of time with infinity masterfully!
rel
Yes, you've hit it out of the park with this one, Tess.
ReplyDeletemarvelous poem for this gestural art
ReplyDeleteA commentator said 'graceful'. That it certainly is.
ReplyDeleteI like this very much Tess...very much!
ReplyDeleteWander
Excellent work, Tess.
ReplyDeleteThe very DNA of poetry Tess.
ReplyDelete... love the verb vs object connection with movement through the infinite ...
ReplyDeleteSo good..hope springs eternal! And "lemniscate", has a tang to it!! But will definitely look it up!!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I learned a new word from you, Tess! I love it that I love your poetry enough to work for it! You are verb, indeed! Wait, that sentence makes you noun. You verb, Tess!
ReplyDeleteThis leaves me with such a sense of triumph in the slipping of time...a stunning write!
ReplyDeleteWords put together
ReplyDeleteand voila,
A pleasure to read over and over again.
Playing with the sounds.
wow amazing
ReplyDeletelove the sounds of this....nicely done and thanks
ReplyDeleteOh so wonderful...the last stanza is brilliant...
ReplyDeleteYour "hour glass of days!!" So authentic...the entire poem...well done!!
ReplyDeleteI love where these pictures take you and the words you use to get there!
ReplyDeleteZero twists to eight,. I am definitely reading all your works today,. first and last stanza's are really beautiful, cheers!
ReplyDeleteStunning! Stunning! Stunning!
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Superb. More than that, I agree with Renee: perfect.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! From the beginning to the end...simply brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely ... to infinity and beyond.
ReplyDeleteNice one. The pic is also Infinity standing up by itself!
ReplyDeleteoh, my. Tess, I have a feeling I'm going to be visiting your blog a lot more often, and this is an elegantly dark little beginning. And lucky you, to have such a voice that gives breath to your words. It looks like it's a really inspired, blessed collaboration.
ReplyDeleteThank you and welcome to Willow Manor, Teagan! Yes, I'm most fortunate for R.A.D. Stainforth to present my work. He's very talented.
DeleteSomewhere along the line,
ReplyDeletethe big zero of time
was twisted at the waist,
to become an eight.
I absolutely love the way you began this piece!
I like the idea of the hourglass. and being "afraid of other people's fears"... "I like to think of myself as verb
ReplyDeleteand not as object;" Great!
Thank you, dear readers! Do I say every week that you are the best readers in the blogosphere? Yes, I do. And I mean it. The best.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem Tess.
ReplyDeleteUnusual metaphor, beautifully realized.
ReplyDelete"I am frightened
ReplyDeleteby other people’s fears,". That line really made me think of the source of my own fears and realised most do come from other people. How odd it took that long!