conkers have a certain charm
they grow if caught
just right
like new love
-they are-
shining, velvety, silken
deeply coloured
rich and pliant
with such softness
and seedling
promise
beguiled by this first
shiny beauty
you keep the
favourite
in your pocket
your very own pocket
and never more
look inside
-then-well-
time
it passes and
you take that garment
that once you wore
with such a thrill
and just before
you fold
the old, forgotten, unworn thing
for some or other charity
you search
its pockets and find.....
.....the conker
dry and wrinkled
its whole essence of seedness
gone
its velvety, marbled,
wood-grain-like
beautiful skin
a husk
and yet
and yet you still
put it into
the memory box
Author notes
I wonder if you polished a new conker with all your might and every unctious substance every day - well - would it always wrinkle to a husk?? Must experiment.....
Written October 6th, 2005
What did you think
Comments
1 - 21 of 21
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Oh, to have someone value such a memory of me. This makes me weep.
Love,
Camille
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My youngest son could be a bit of a difficult child when young (he's 16 now and much less difficult!!!) - one of our best days was collecting conkers in the park and coming home to plant them. We have some large horse chestnut trees in pots now that are taller than he is. Have planted one at the end of the garden to set it free from its pot! I am certain that there is someone somewhere who feels just such a thing about you. Thank you for such a lovely comment. XXD
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Hi chills,
Over here in the states we call conkers buckeyes. I believe I still have one from my childhood, if I could just find the darned thing. Oh wait, maybe I won't look for it and just pretend that it is just as soft and pliant and pristine...as I am! LOL!
Great poem!
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You are the only American who understood the concept of 'Conkers' - High praise indeed!! I love them. But they do deteriorate quicker than an old lady on the Chardonnay! Be forever soft, pliant and pristine as a fresh and beautifully marked buckeye! big mwah! And keep polishing the conkers. xx
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I'll just keep polishing that ole conker until my conker's conked out! LOL!
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ahhhhhhhhhhh......
it is interesting what we keep in our memory boxes,
a tradition long ago forgotten, but so powerful to keep
and feed upon each strength of memory!
ears/Seattle sis i really enjoyed this poem!
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Cafe - a conker is the fruit of the horse chestnut tree. It comes in a big prickly green case which splits open to reveal the seed which is about one and a half inches in diameter and has a glossy deep brown skin figured like wood grain. They are gorgeous. Little boys over here in the UK play conkers. You make a hole right through and thread the thing onto a bootlace or bit of string. Then you try and break your opponent's conker by whacking it with yours!! When they are 'seasoned', they become all hard and wrinkly and don't look half as nice but they are then better for 'the game' as they inflict more damage. In our PC world, this game has been banned by schools as, quite often, you or your opponent gets hit rather than the conker...... Read 'Grandad Nick' by 'thebee' (a friend) for another reference to conkers....... love, chills
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Not Guilty, your Honour
Very nice.
But to answer the question, I would have to understand exactly what is a conker. We have conch shells, with or without the animal. I don't think you'd leave one with the animal in it, so it must be an empty shell. Or is conker something else?
The poem itself is a gem. -
no, over here we only have active imaginations that take us where some men have taken us before...
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I, as a Brit, can't believe that all of you across the good old water have no such thing as a conker - fruit of the horse chestnut tree, favoured by little boys all over Britain in autumn.
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I was definitely wondering about the old conker and shining that knobby thing- good thing its been cleared up and clarified for those of us across the ocean. I really enjoyed the read and the double entendre.
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Imagery to remember
First, for those who don't live in England, a conker is a horse chestnut (seed). I had never seen one until I moved here from South Africa and they really are beautiful.
Once again a great use of a natural metaphor. You really do find them. Even old and wrinkled, the good things in life remain worth hanging on to. -
thanks tony my brov. A world champion conker if only it hadn't been such a stubborn little b! At least you got a fiver as well..! big love, chilli sis
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Hey you...what a beautifully inspired peice. The metaphors are sublime...delightful
What are we really polishing...trying desperately to stop the wrinkles from spreading HA HA!
Hey you know what...i kept a conker in the pocket of an old jacket...only to discover it about 10 years later when i was throwing the jacket out (with a fiver i think) and i tell you that conker was hard as concrete and old and wrinkled like a...OK i will stop there.
I wanted to string it but couldnt even break the surface. Coulda been a world champion conker that if it had relented! HEE HEE!
Hey anyhoo...wonderful write sis, love it loads, especially the last line...we always put these things back in the boxes of our memory...something to be nostalgic about another time.
You should be proud.
Edited on Oct 07, 1:21 because ''. -
glad you picked up on that. many thanks for your positivity.
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thank you - you're kind
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At the possibility of being considered stupid at my advanced age I have no idea what a Conker is.Can't find it my dictionary.
Could you enlighten me? -
Very interesting.
Well now this one does indeed have some interesting things about it. I must agree with the others on this one. -
I love how this piece makes you reflect back on memories. Although the relationship is not new (or possibly not even there anymore!) and the conker is not new anymore, it is still worth hanging onto because of the memory it holds. this is what i got from it.~great write!~becky
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such a lovely poem Mother. it felt to be there in the moment with you and your son. knowing the mother/child relationship myself, you could have toted so much emotion and love-drag into this poem. but you keep it tight, concise and to the moment. it's something as a reader i could appreciate and see all the love that is there.
Jo -
great job on this! It Rocks
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