Sunday, July 22, 2012

Infinity



Somewhere along the line,
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...




















* Figure Eight, 1952, by Franz Kline

55 comments:

  1. This is perfect. "I am frightened by other people's fears" that punctuates everything this week in such an eloquent manner. Bravo, Tess.

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  2. I 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.

    PS- 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.

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  3. A stunning write. I especially am taken by "the big zero of time was twisted at the waist to become an eight." Brilliant.

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  4. love the hour glass references....perfect as usual..x

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  5. awesome interpretation of the subject...

    JJRod'z

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  6. Beautiful twist on the eight figure, specially the last stanza ~

    Thanks for the lovely prompt ~

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  7. Wonderful, Tess. I especially like--

    I like to think of myself as verb
    and not as object; chop-chop.

    -- and the last stanza.

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  8. This is gorgeous. I loved every word of it.

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  9. The sound of this is fabulous. Twist, waist, eight, wait...
    And love S4 and S5.

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  10. you are a verb, certainly

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  11. Wonderful! Especially loved the first stanza.

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  12. Quite 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.

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  13. i 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...

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  14. Oh, this is fabulous. The imagery all through this sparkles with life. I loved this:
    An hourglass of days,
    slipping slow from the top,
    then fast below the belt.
    Infinity described, to perfection.

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  15. good word images, thoughts off the center of normal, i like that.

    ..."time was twisted and the waist" ....

    ..."i like to think of myself as a verb"... you are surely a verb!

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  16. "Lemniscate" comes from the Latin lemniscatus meaning "adorned with ribbons" ...

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    1. Thanks for explaining 'lemniscate' - couldn't find it in any dictionary but now I know. Appreciated.

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  17. You did it again... made me look up a word. I love you for that.

    P.S. Come on over to my place... I just got a facelift! *wink*

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  18. 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

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  19. "then fast below the belt."

    Doesn't get any truer than that.

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  20. An hourglass of days,
    slipping slow from the top,
    then fast below the belt.

    We can almost see the movement in this stanza. Beautiful writing Tess!

    Hank

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  21. Twisted and x-ed at the waist ! that was my bow tie. Enjoyed it thanks-

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  22. I 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"

    eight 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.

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  23. Tess,
    You weave the ribbons of time with infinity masterfully!
    rel

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  24. Yes, you've hit it out of the park with this one, Tess.

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  25. marvelous poem for this gestural art

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  26. A commentator said 'graceful'. That it certainly is.

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  27. I like this very much Tess...very much!

    Wander

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  28. ... love the verb vs object connection with movement through the infinite ...

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  29. So good..hope springs eternal! And "lemniscate", has a tang to it!! But will definitely look it up!!

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  30. Once 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!

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  31. This leaves me with such a sense of triumph in the slipping of time...a stunning write!

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  32. Words put together
    and voila,
    A pleasure to read over and over again.

    Playing with the sounds.

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  33. love the sounds of this....nicely done and thanks

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  34. Oh so wonderful...the last stanza is brilliant...

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  35. Your "hour glass of days!!" So authentic...the entire poem...well done!!

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  36. I love where these pictures take you and the words you use to get there!

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  37. Zero twists to eight,. I am definitely reading all your works today,. first and last stanza's are really beautiful, cheers!

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  38. Stunning! Stunning! Stunning!

    Anna :o]

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  39. Superb. More than that, I agree with Renee: perfect.

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  40. Awesome! From the beginning to the end...simply brilliant!

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  41. This is lovely ... to infinity and beyond.

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  42. Nice one. The pic is also Infinity standing up by itself!

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  43. oh, 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.

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    1. Thank 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.

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  44. Somewhere along the line,
    the big zero of time
    was twisted at the waist,
    to become an eight.

    I absolutely love the way you began this piece!

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  45. I like the idea of the hourglass. and being "afraid of other people's fears"... "I like to think of myself as verb
    and not as object;" Great!

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  46. 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.

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  47. Unusual metaphor, beautifully realized.

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  48. "I am frightened
    by 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!

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