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semplice

 

 


the dark is wide, the lighthouse a sigh,
a long moon, spinning endlessly.
i hear him,

my owl.  his voice comes
to me through the shadows, 
through the pause
of my pen, and my hands
where they hang,
listening -

hands that can not write
my heart’s noises, or press the owl’s call
against this page, empty and open
like a beach

but tonight, tonight it doesn’t matter
what my heart can’t articulate,
or the language my hands
can not reach;

i hear him, my owl:  hoo hoo,
hoo hoo he breaks the silence
that breaks everything,
calls the night,
endlessly
soft

while the long moon drifts away
toward malaysia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a list

A contest entry

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Comments

1 - 78 of 78

  • apples fell
    September 25, 2008

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    This is a beautiful piece of writing...It has an uplifting quality like one has just stretched themselves out for the world as they pause, as they contemplate their next move. I was thinking perhaps that the "away" could go from the end...At least how I read it I think it would work alright. This has structure and careful sounds throughout and I think it is a fine piece of poetry.

    Thank you so much for entering and good luck.

    ;


  • Swan song gold member
    June 13, 2008

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    This gave me goose bumps How lovely!!!!!!
    Play Wink

  • Virgoan
    April 17, 2008

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    a timeless piece. always fresh - the trance of emotion in its light hearted tone.

    excellent piece

    thanks for sharing and keep writing.

    HENSLEY


  • Randomly Beautiful
    March 16, 2008

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    Your words are always penned so beautiful. The first two entries I've gotten in my favorites contest were inspired by you. This is why...sigh.


    • Nicolette gold member
      March 16, 2008
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      Oh...wow!! Thank you, Trina....

      • Randomly Beautiful
        March 16, 2008
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        You are a pleasure to read. No thanks needed hon. I'm not sure if you read the entries in my favorites only contest but the first two wrote inspired by your pieces.


  • Heart Sutra
    February 3, 2008

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    just came back for another read...

    such depth of emotion....

    one day my heart will return and I will write again from such places within me...

    • Nicolette gold member
      February 3, 2008
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      yes.... it's a long journey for the heart...and for those of us who experience life deeply...the journey back to our hearts. Thank you, my friend...


  • Dienush
    February 1, 2008

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    You know, it's poems like this one that leave me with nothing worthy to say - there are so many wonderful images, so many clever symbols, such perfect analogies, that even if I tried to say something positive I wouldn't know where to start. I love everything about this poem.

    ~Diana

  • Shannon
    January 20, 2008

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    absolutely beautiful. you are able to express what the poem claims to not be able to express "but tonight, tonight it doesn't matter / what my heart can't articulate"

    but you did, and it was a beautiful poem. I love the setting, the complimentary sounds of the ocean and the owl. Also the subtle nod at the lighthouse which mirrors the longing of the speaker, searching for the right words, searching for her lover.

    Gorgeous, as always.


  • paulcreates silver member
    January 13, 2008
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    Such soft subtle beauty in this piece. Delicate. Nice..


  • Nishantshah2381
    January 13, 2008

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    i hear him, my owl: hoo hoo,
    hoo hoo he breaks the silence
    that breaks everything,
    calls the night,
    endlessly
    soft


    nice lines


  • klassy lassy
    January 13, 2008

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    hearing harmony...

    Nicolette, I know I read this and thought I had left a comment, but I do not see it, now. I have rarely heard an owl, but recall it as an incredibly lonesome sound in the night which seemes to hold one separate from breath for a moment, suspended--as in the awareness of your hands...listening.

    Twelve years ago I was traveling a winding mountain road around the bay at night when a young owl flew into the headlights of my car. I had been moving slowly, but it hit with a sickening crunch. Distressed, I turned around, and went back. The bird was stunned, but standing on the center line of the road dazed and injured. I put it in a box in the trunk of my car and was lead to knock on the door of the nearest house.

    Providence was at work, because the man who answered the door worked at a bird sanctuary funded by the Audubon Society in a neighboring town. He took the bird for treatment. In a few days I received a phone call that the bird was recovering and would be released into the wild.

    I had not thought of that night in a very long time, until your poem. Thank you for sharing. It was heartfelt!


    • Nicolette gold member
      January 14, 2008
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      That's a lovely owl story, Karen. Thank you for sharing, my friend


  • kaibab silver member
    January 13, 2008

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    This is haunting and soothing with the whispers of hope...I love this longer style of soul and story....


  • Asfand
    January 13, 2008

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    a caressing bliss, isn't it, the beautiful night. such exquisite feelings, such solemn and quiet beauty. wonderful ~


  • IronIcecream
    January 13, 2008

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    I like the contrast
    between the haunting peaceful stillness of night
    with owl howls creeping to feed saturn
    in the nest of fear

    and the long moon
    kinetic
    heading towards malaysia
    where lullabies are needed



    • Nicolette gold member
      January 13, 2008
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      Yes, the contrast is what I wanted to create here, just that moment.. thank you, even your comment is poetic


      • IronIcecream
        January 13, 2008
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        poems that touch my strings
        make me release 'poetic' comments
        and I'm not even a poet


        • Nicolette gold member
          January 13, 2008
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          well, I'm happy that you released your "poetic" writing here.


  • NurseChilly gold member
    January 12, 2008

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    I don't think it's risky at all.. I think it's strong and succinct and adds a wonderful sound to this piece Nicci.. the line breaks are tight and keep the moment hanging on the branch with the owl..

    a turn of the head, twist of the eye and it's all gone

    bloody marvelous stuff

    G.x

  • wendymolly
    January 11, 2008
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    deep rooted feelings, very tight.


  • Heart Sutra
    January 11, 2008
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    ah, yes....this one....

    very meaningful

  • Suzanne Dia
    January 10, 2008

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    Nicci, this is so beautiful...very peaceful. Almost surreal -




  • Cat gold member
    January 10, 2008

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    i love the opening on this- it is a sigh
    in and of itself

    you take some risks in your poetry at times that i appreciate- the hooo hooo seems risky but i think it works for me- it allows the reader to somehow closer relate to the piece, or understand the piece

    or the language my hands can not reach.. some beautiful phrasing through out this piece..

    m


  • Cannonsfire
    January 9, 2008

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    A moment of peace does describe this so very well, you make me want to walk outside, take spirit from the stars above and wish to be universal with the sky, serene and my heart repaired. You write as soft as the pillow I lay to sleep on dear Nicolette, it is restful and I enjoy every word. Love, C


  • AJ Morelli gold member
    January 8, 2008
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    so nice Nic, peaceful indeed...

    a lovely write



    al


  • ellipsist
    January 8, 2008

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    amazing... amazing imagery and occupation and engagement of not just senses, but incitement of emotions... beautifully written - this is incredible...


  • just rob gold member
    January 8, 2008

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    Excellent

    We have two breeds of really large loud owls here. I wish you could hear the instances when they harmonize with coyotes or wolves. I spend much of the autumn perched silently in trees. When the sun seeks the forest to my west, they hunt and ask that proverbial question. Often, they are lured to my tree by my furtive movements. THE DRAMA! Once, mistaking a head movement for a furry repast, a great gray swooped, missing my head to rip my jacket and emulate a terrorist.lol.

    Now I know why I've not written of them, or my sojurns when transfixed by their song or their large and intimadating presence. I just wouldn't have done it so well.




  • arafura gold member
    January 8, 2008

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    oh oh...!

    There you go giving goosebumps to this tired old cynic! This is simply wonderful and has to be one of the best poems I've read on here. the imagery is stunning and it all flows together beautifully. Top class...


    • Nicolette gold member
      January 8, 2008
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      Goosebumps are good, and smiles too - thank you...!


  • Catressa gold member
    January 8, 2008

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    I swear I could hear your owl... My youngest is afraid of them but I draw comfort from them.. They are the guardian I think of the woods. And I truly love the woods..

    Beautiful Nic..


    • Nicolette gold member
      January 8, 2008
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      Thanks, Cat...I love them too and I'm glad you could hear my one...


  • astralshepherd gold member
    January 7, 2008

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    when we moved to our current home, an owl greeted us that first evening by soaring inches above our heads, its pure white wings beating slow whispers of air and then its clear call of welcome...it has been twelve years and each spring it makes its presence known, or maybe it is one of its children that perches high in the eucalyptus now, reminding us we are part of a wonder-filled world.
    blessings and best wishes,
    ~r.

  • Philogos gold member
    January 7, 2008

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    I find this a tremendously exotic poem - with its sense of space and the tropical night coming from the first and last stanzas. The way you use the image of the 'long moon' both to capture the ceaseless rotation of the lighthouse and the stillness of the sea in which the light is reflected links beautifully with the tropical Malaysian ocean.

    And then the owl, not the harbinger of doom but the familiar friend whose voice is simply nature - beyond the listener, impossible to grasp. Think of how even hands that write must simply hang listening when faced with the simple profundity of the sound.

    The repetition of 'tonight' works really well to suggest the extraordinary atmosphere that makes capturing it in poetry unnecessary; that suspends critical analysis in favour of the raw phenomenon.

    I often read your poems and don't have the time to do the analysis but, for this one, that would have been plain wrong.

    vic

    • Nicolette gold member
      January 7, 2008
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      Vic, thank you - what a lovely comment and you've put your finger on the essence of this poem. I'm happy that you've found the time to read and analize this one tonight... thanks!!


  • Malabu
    January 7, 2008

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    your words show the way...and the light is so bright in the deepest mist...I am an owl who hoot hoots...on the waiting shores
    it is not enough to sigh once so I'll sigh again...
    Mal


  • le soir
    January 7, 2008
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    -


  • Namita
    January 7, 2008

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    ahhh!! new title - much beter than the old one - decrescendo... or was it diminuendo? anyway, like the new title!


  • EvilKate
    January 7, 2008

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    Oops. I forgot to say - bookmarked! - the sighing lighthouse was enough to secure that ... let alone the rest

  • EvilKate
    January 7, 2008
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    I shall not withdraw, but if this doesn't rise above my effort then I will 'volunteer' our wonderful hostess for a zillion spam sign-ups

    If this fell from hands than cannot write ... give me a call when you're wearing the ones that can!

    Absolutely perfect.

    *sigh*


    • Nicolette gold member
      January 7, 2008
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      Another one that makes me say "wow"!! Thanks, Kate...

  • Yvette Champ gold member
    January 7, 2008

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    Oh my, how your words touch this reader with the tendrils of longing and I unashamedly admit that I cry streams of salty tears for a moment of peace within the simple complexity of weight versus ache, the owl does not give a " to wit to whoo" he/she is sagacioucess, much like the poetess herself, if only I had the words to convey how your poetry touches me, I have neither the skill nor panache but the utmost appreciation for the Mount Everest of your penmanship, a breath of the purest air, pure poetry, you convey and portray for me the ultimate of love and light,your spirit is surely the purest white and relayed to the reader poetically, you are a poetess that Neruda would have held close as a fellow afficianodo of The Word, you touch without touching, you reach without the need to preach, I am honoured and humbled at the same time.
    You make me feel both speechless and yet the need to say what I wish I could convey makes me ramble endlessly...

    • Nicolette gold member
      January 7, 2008
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      Wow...Yvette ....I'm honoured to be on the receiving end of such a wonderful comment. My.. you do have the panache and the skill to convey your thoughts, my friend. Thank you...for leaving me speechless too...

  • garde a l eau
    January 6, 2008

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    "breaks the silence that breaks everything" I have goosebumps, literally, reading this, feeling the softness of a living warm night--sort of dreamdrift instead of moondrift on ice. Your hands must hold cellular memories to write this! It's lovely. ~


  • zappa gold member
    January 6, 2008

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    I am utterly mesmerized by the sounds you can write so easily as words on paper. The pen truly does have a voice!


  • natari
    January 6, 2008
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    Amazing and so simplistic in it's beauty.
    ~Helen


  • CarolDesjarlais silver member
    January 6, 2008

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    Absolutely stunning writing. I knwo that hoo hoo even when there is no owl to call it...what a longing sound that is, much like wolf whose haunting call to gather you ehar, but can not see. Simply breathtaking poetry.


  • MuddyKing
    January 6, 2008

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    excellence is rare

    the sudden break in the silence is what drew me in
    and then everything was alive in my mind and eyes
    I won't choose a favorite passage as
    the melding of the imagery is born to the next
    best wishes
    peace and hugs
    Muddy

    • Nicolette gold member
      January 7, 2008
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      Thanks, Muddy... you've picked up the part about the break in silence that I wanted the reader to see... sometimes we need just a soft sound to feel the calm and the peace again.


  • Night Hope gold member
    January 6, 2008

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    "but tonight, tonight it doesn’t matter
    what my heart can’t articulate,
    or the language my hands
    can not reach"

    Oh. Ohhh, my. Neruda is envious of the inherent beauty within your words, my Sister. How incredibly lovely. Good luck in Mary's contest, my dear Friend. I knew you'd be writing one. Vlindertjie


  • Utok Bulinaw
    January 6, 2008
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    This is gorgeous Nic. There's indeed a sense of calmness in here.

  • grm
    January 6, 2008

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    there's an owl living near me, too. but he's a smartass owl. instead of saying who, who...he asks what, what?

    if you should one day hear a caw, caw coming from outside your window, and look out to see a big black crow...

    now, that would be me


    this is beautiful poetry.

    • Nicolette gold member
      January 6, 2008
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      Thanks muchly! Some nights my owl also asks what, what but last night I heard only who, who....and the caw, caw - I'll hear him, that crow


  • Mad Moon silver member
    January 6, 2008

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    Oh my...Totally speechless here! I don't know what to say, Sweet Lady. This is so peaceful, so beautiful, and so you. There are too many perfect lines for me to pick a favorite...I'd have to copy the whole darn poem! I wish I could type a meaningful comment, but my mouth is on the floor, and I am in total awe. Brava doesn't begin to give this justice. Absolutely exquisite, dear one. I'm srill speechless.....


    • Nicolette gold member
      January 6, 2008
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      Thank you, Mary...you are always so generous and kind, my friend. Thank you for the "speechless"...


  • leander Moderators member
    January 6, 2008

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    "The language my hands cannot reach"
    to name one line of the many that describes things I feel, but can't put in words...

    just beautiful!


  • Sonja
    January 6, 2008

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    Feelings of silence in loneliness of the night. Each sound is bringing a new feelings, yearning, longing...
    Poem and imagery summarized to the essence of peace framed with the night sounds, deep feelings and your gaze following the vanished moon. Great as always.
    ~Sonja~

  • tara wilson gold member
    January 6, 2008

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    "but tonight, tonight, it doesn’t matter
    what my heart can’t articulate,
    or the language my hands
    can not reach;"

    oh, I have felt this tonight before too...sighs, beautiful imagery and depth of feeling...what amazing poetry..I love this..



    • Nicolette gold member
      January 6, 2008
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      Thanks Tara.. yes, some nights one should only listen...and let the night writes its own poem


  • new light
    January 6, 2008

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    this is so lovely..
    i love the imagery in this piece.
    great write.


  • Leslie gold member
    January 6, 2008

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    Its such a beautiful piece, I feel how the words are stuck in the throat.. and all that lingers is the silence, and desolation.... wanting to write all that words can really say...


    • Nicolette gold member
      January 6, 2008
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      Thank you, Leslie.... write something, so that I can read your beautiful poetry again too...


  • PageTurner
    January 6, 2008

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    A diminuendo passage of passion ...Sighhh. So comforting, an owl hoot... if for know other reason but to break the unbearable silence of self...

    "my owl. his voice comes
    to me through the shadows,
    its solemn imagery, through the pause
    of my pen, and my hands
    where they hang,
    listening - "

    Masterful Murmurings, Scribe.

    ~ Nicky♥


  • misselaineous
    January 6, 2008
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    beautiful
    simply wondeful poetry


  • Danny Beatty gold member
    January 6, 2008

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    the joy ...

    i hear him, my owl: hoo hoo,
    hoo hoo he breaks the silence
    that breaks everything,
    calls the night,
    endlessly
    soft

    while the long moon drifts away
    toward malaysia

    ... of this poem is a charm, not charming, but a charm. in a decrescendo there is an inertia that spins and draws and releases simultaneously, like the flow of ideas through the heart, then through the soul, then through the eyes and back again finally into the fingers, their tacca plant facility to make the center of the person truly glow .... a cats whisker is an adorable thing when the cat sleeps in the sun and snores just a little, but when the cat wakes, how beautiful its lines remain! ... simply wonderful ...peace ,,, Moqui

    • Nicolette gold member
      January 6, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      You always write the most amazing comments...poetry in itself. Thank you, my friend... what a beautiful comment. You have such a finely-tuned poetic eye

  • Rowan gold member
    January 6, 2008

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    I loved this. A sense of peaceful longing, or nostalgia.
    That last line is stunning.
    I have an owl that sits outside my bedroom window~ I just love the sound. So deep, so...haunting. Like this.


    • Nicolette gold member
      January 6, 2008
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      You would understand a night like this... thank you, kathleen


  • Namita
    January 6, 2008
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    - now my turn to say

    speechless -

1 - 78 of 78