We are universal
like the sun
spilled drink
the barking dog
greeting a friend
flowers for the dead
dirty shoe
an unmade bed
some do not see
the world
but drive
straight through
swallowing hard
without chewing
Tess Kincaid
July 2011
Tess Kincaid
July 2011
image: People of Chilmark, Thomas Hart Benton, 1920
Sometimes that's the only way to get through the day...just drive right through eyes straight ahead.
ReplyDeleteits when we stop, for just a minute, breath and look around us that we truly see the world :)
ReplyDeletegreat write.
how true...time to slow down and be in the now--thanks for the reminder
ReplyDeleteLove the painting too.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent piece, love the ending line!
ReplyDeleteAnd that is so sad, that people don't slow down to smell the roses and watch the people. Well done Tess.
ReplyDeleteyes, such truth - and such beauty in the image you've paired with these wonderful words, lady!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have heard of the swallowers, but I tend to meet and be related to the chewers :)
ReplyDeleteBut maybe there is a time for swallowing fast and a time for chewing slowly?? Time for pizza more like!
Last night there was a programme on BBC about the ten most expensive paintings sold at auction, and for 76 million (squillion) quid, was Ruben's 'Massacre of the Innocents'. Google it and you'll see something of a resemblance to Benton's People of Chilmark... except for the massacre part.. which is hideous indeed.
tess i can't remember a time when i didn't have my eyes wide open. there are many times when i think back and i wish my eyes had been closed but try as i might they had to see everything. so recognizing that as a condition of my existence here, i am trying to learn how to re-present what i see in a way that connects to others. but you already know about that because you yourself do it so well!!! steven
ReplyDeleteI like the last line... :)
ReplyDeleteHello dear Tess long time my friend...lovely poem and i like the fact that we have to take it slow and enjoy the life now. Beautiful image too and see you around soon.
ReplyDeleteWild Rose~
yes, we are all universal. great read
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Tess... and the ending is powerful and so very true!
ReplyDeleteElegant Simplicity...Cheers!
ReplyDeleteWonderful reminders... chewing enough to taste what is offered, sometimes time rushes by, none the less, flavors still abound.
ReplyDeletegood philosophy - stop and look!
ReplyDeletedefinitely take the time to savor everything!
ReplyDeleteFantastic! A life lesson and point perfectly stated!
ReplyDeletethat's human nature, however hard we try, sometimes we chew, sometimes we swallow without chewing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact about Chilmark,the town was once known for its unusually high percentage of deaf citizens. In 1854, Chilmark had a deaf population of one in every 25 people! This made it necessary to literally stop and look in order to "listen".
ReplyDeleteA wonderful poem about being human..onward and upward!!
ReplyDeletenicely summed up, Tess! Love that accompanying image, too!
ReplyDeleteNice. A good reminder too often forgotten.
ReplyDeleteFirst - LOVE the Benton image.
ReplyDeleteSecond - this reminds me of two weeks ago while my husband and I were walking along the beach watching the dolphins just offshore and people were walking by doing their morning exercise walks not even looking in the water.
I'm remembering my mother telling me to always chew my food thoroughly, that it would help with digestion! Chewing/pondering before swallowing/acting is good. In every aspect of life.
ReplyDeletePerfect pairing of image and words. The words "but drive straight through" makes me think of so many times feeling numb and yes, just driving through it all...well said.
ReplyDeleteNobody does it better Tess, and I mean nobody.
ReplyDeleteWe are all linked by our universal need for love. And you are right, we all need to slow down to see this in others. We can sometimes be so quick to see the differences. Very nice : )
ReplyDeleteTess -- Terrific -- so true -- barbara
ReplyDelete“some do not see the world but drive straight through swallowing hard without chewing”- need i say more? this line volumes it all... very quotable Tess, very true! I like the painting, though it made me think deep. I think this would suit a great cover for humanities. Thanks for the poem.(:
ReplyDeleteBrightest blessings.
~Kelvin
Excellent as always.
ReplyDeleteThis one resonates, pulsates,
ReplyDeleteawakens, enrages, soothes,
cajoles, teases, and then gets
right to the point, jabbing a
bony finger in the plexus.
I love it; like the line:
/some do not see the world/
and feel odd, and short of
breath as I ponder and consider
what mood descended on you
as this piece unfolded.
So thought-provoking, Tess. Beautifully done.
ReplyDelete— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Love it !
ReplyDelete- swallowing hard without chewing -so true - I'll remember that one!
tender and fascinating poem, Tess. xxxj
ReplyDeleteI like the last three couplets particularly Tess.
ReplyDeleteIt took a while but I finally realized that the people in the painting cannot see each other. I like your interpretation Tess. How true.
ReplyDeleteThis is a stunning poem, Tess...loved it! My own contribution echoes a little of the same sentiment...
ReplyDeleteNOM NOMNOM NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM...
ReplyDelete(keep chewing!)
Yup! One of my favorite moments throughout a day are when I 'stop all engines' and just be still. And I know there is a God, and I ain't IT.
ReplyDeleteAnd He is in charge of all the ongoing miracles of the Universe, seen and unseen.
PEACE!
Excellent Tess.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Carpe diem!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the poignant reminder.
Right on the button, Tess. William Henry Davies would have loved this.
ReplyDeleteSwallowing whole not chewing. That is why most people go through life with a terrible indigestion toward life. Great piece.
ReplyDeleteQMM
some just fail to see..........its sometimes better to drive srt with seeing...i loved it..nice :)
ReplyDeleteisn't this the truth. and then some of us chew too long.
ReplyDeletebeautiful.
Oh I'm such a lead foot - in & out of the car. I think that's one of the things that blogging does for me - makes me slow down & NOTICE.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many ways we can interpret this...we see, we don't see, we refuse to see.
ReplyDeleteThought-provoking indeed, Tess.
Wonderful imagery!
It is the hard swallow that we learn the most from.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed… Wished I’d slowed down sooner than I did.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great poem. The ending lands it perfectly!
ReplyDeletenice to see you at one shot! happy tuesday tess...swallowing without chewing...never want that to be me...
ReplyDeleteShort but powerful
ReplyDeleteI am sure this will be in your Patina Vulume II....
ReplyDeleteThomas Hart Benton...I LOVE his figures!
...or maybe that will be Patina VOLUME II!
ReplyDeleteI like the slender, sinewy (eg: lean, muscular) aspects of this, Tess. Well done!
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteThere's not much in human nature that is new under the sun, but to pass through life without taking note is a shame.
rel
Those straight-drivers are like folks who spend all their time on vacation taking pictures, missing everything, spend half their day on their iPad, or those ones who on their deathbed confess, "you know, I sure wish I would have spent more time at work." The miss the universe staring at their own place in the heavens. - Brendan
ReplyDeleteIm not big on poetry. But this hits home. I "get" this. It is like we hurry about & dont really see around us.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you nailed it, without "swallowing."
ReplyDeleteDear Tess: Wonderful way to see anew with slowed down vision get off the track and observe all the fine nuances in life. In the mad rush the madding crowd keeps pace with the rat race!
ReplyDeletesome do not see
the world
Thought-felt heart of a poem! Thank-you! Love having my senses opened!
sometimes i want to swallow without chewing, because the meal is bitter... but if i take the time to chew, i realize it is really bittersweet...
ReplyDeletenice write, tess.
You packed so much wisdom into this in few words. Nice choice of art as well.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! Lovely flow of wisdom.
ReplyDeleteOh yes indeed! We tend to overlook the usual, ignore the mundane.. but they do exist, and we can even change it all, only if we make an attempt..
ReplyDeleteA superb poem to match this amazing picture, Tess!
I love your style, your writing is incredible, I wish I could write so well!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this one ... as I relate to it very much... we, in my opinion, always live either in past or in future, but never in now... you have brought this thought very closely into this verse...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing...
Shashi
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/07/whispers-cuckoos-song-and-smell-of-love.html
You need to chew on life, to get all the goodness out of it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all your kind and generous comments, dear readers. You are the best. xo
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Tess ...
ReplyDeleteThis was pointed and sharp, the correct tool for prodding - something we all need frequently... liked it Tess
ReplyDeleteHey Tess, congrats on your poetry chapbook. I can see why you need to be published. It's a blessings to everyone who gets those hands on this magnificent book. I'm buying a copy. Congrats on your blog award. I'm proud to know you. Joyce Evans-Campbell
ReplyDelete