Sunday, March 3, 2013

Shipwrecked



Surrounded by desert island books
and ever-present scorpions,
I pass coconut time, la la la,
scrubbing the ken of tombstones,
pick at the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Until something pleasant rocks
on the vacant horizon
your unexpected boat
floats like the moon in a day-blue sky,
some far-off classical station plays Bach.

You stand as if you know me,
toss a life ring my direction.
I squint, wade out for a better view,
doggy paddle slow at first,
wonder if Picasso had a stomach ache, too.

Sea streams from my nose.
You grab me with gosling hands,
pull me on board
feed me minestrone by osmosis,
turn me into a bouquet of roses. 


tk/March 2013


Many thanks to the talented R.A.D. Stainforth for reading my poem.





Image by TheFoxAndTheRaven 

45 comments:

  1. love it, Tess!!!

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  2. I taste the salt in this dream.

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  3. strangely romantic. lovely images to dwell on.

    have a great day.

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  4. ...like the playfulness in your imagery today Tess... ha...i'm excited to hear R.A.D. read...the la..la...la... part... smiles...

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    1. Hope you came back for a listen Kelvin...sounds a lot like "Moon River" to me...

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  5. there are ways & ways of being shipwrecked, and ways & ways of being rescued - you give the whole idea of it new life and in a very romantic way...

    your unexpected boat
    floats like the moon in a day-blue sky,
    some far-off classical station plays Bach.


    mmm

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  6. Oh dear...mine seems too dark now.

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  7. this is such a rich gorgeous poem Tess.

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  8. I like the phrase "gosling hands." Who wouldn't want to be turned into a bouquet of roses?

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  9. Great words. Romantic and exciting adventure at the same time.

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  10. I loved it ... well written !!!

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  11. "Shipwrecked." I've been shipwrecked, and it's a bit like that...

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  12. Ain't love grand?
    Like a piping hot Turkish towel :)

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  13. Here comes Picasso-! I do think when you get to the point of exhaustion from swimming- your vision flickers
    with shapes and colors much like his work! Thanks

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  14. Gorgeous, Tess! It reads like a dream.

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  15. So very, very not bad ;-) Love RAD's read. Just fabulous, all told...fabulous.

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    1. Thank you Dr. Linthead...yes this just might be one of R.A.D.'s best reads ever...

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  16. another well done poem Tess...enjoyed it lots

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  17. ...and together they shall sail- bodies as one!

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  18. I should know better than to read your poems. Lines like
    "feed me minestrone by osmosis,
    turn me into a bouquet of roses".
    will stay with me the entire day now.
    And I don't even like minestrone soup.

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    1. I take that as the highest of compliments, Alan...thank you...

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  19. I am in absolute awe... 'yup' that's all I can offer.

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  20. be hard put to choose a fav line. all are so lovely. wonderful image of love's salvation

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  21. What a wonderful metamorphosis.

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  22. I love it. Felt like I was there when I was reading this.

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  23. This just cascades..I felt part of the wave, Picasso very apt!

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  24. cool nice love his reading of it gives time for it to sink in daydream abit about the meanings and implications - it was a pleasure spending time with your poems again

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  25. Very alchemical, Tess! Bette Midler would be proud !

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  26. You let me see romance in a whole new way.

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  27. Exotic - a buffet of words for the reader to savor with a bit of salt

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  28. Oh, those last two lines...

    (Well, all of them, actually.)

    ;)

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  29. To be sure. Only the sirens could save her now. Lovely!

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  30. This is true-blue Tess brilliance. Your voice is so strong in this poem, and I enjoy it so much, that I am going to listen to R.A.D.'s reading later on.

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  31. It sounds lke true love to me! Lovely!

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  32. ..."turn me into a bouquet of roses"....what a beautiful thought there!!

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  33. So good! Deserving of repeated readings. 😺

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  34. Beautiful imagery . . . and I love the reading!

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  35. Very nice Tess! I really like your choice of words...

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