PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
"A penny for your thoughts," you say.
What? You'd actually pay? O.K. …
let's start the auction then … you ma’am?
Still a penny? Well, for that you get
slipshod thoughts, slightly less than true,
hand-me-downs, charity-shop thoughts
clichés and commonplaces: thoughts
you would really not like to be associated with
in intellectual company or in converse with friends:
You get what you pay for… Oh, over there..
You ma’am … you offer silver? That's better -
this lot has thoughts shot through with lightning
and moonlit nights. Quicksilver thoughts you have to chase,
slick to the touch, slippery to hold on to, impermanent.
What? Gold from you?
A regal choice, mellow and sunshiny
thoughts to parade with pomp and pride
to gift grand seals of approval
amid the jubilant sound of symbols.
Do I hear 'rubies' well, hey!
These thoughts are the lifeblood of the passing
hours: the blood-red blooms of love and passion,
the satin secret folds of female flesh, and the roses of
sweet and sour remembrance.
Sapphires now! Oh. Yes the cosmic blue set into the wail
of Miles Davis' horn, midnight thoughts in dire deep
seas of mysteries and nightmare scenes
and enduring indigo loneliness.
Emeralds? Botanic gem … such earthy thoughts:
grappling in the green ferns with my girl, "roll me over,
lay me down, and do it again" Sorry ma’am,
not for sale. Private thoughts. Next?
Opals? Well I'm not sure. These thoughts
lie at the changing heart of me. They switch
and change, never still, lit by half-hidden fires
and oracular shifts of spectral light.
What else will you offer? Wood, paper, ink?
Do you really need to know
whatever I think?
Barter is best, so trade your musings
for mine and offer not one paltry
penny for my harum-scarum thoughts.
Author notes
The phrase fired my imagination ... and so this poem was spawned.
Comments
1 - 13 of 13
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..it's been said that Life will give you what you ask of it. But some thoughts are better left unspoken, and if they are worh the effort, chances are they''ll get posted here. Honestly, Meic, the way your poems unfold on these pages, I'm totally fascinated! This is flat out delightful to read, and now I can't help wonder if harum-scarum goes for cotton tails! Probably, in the more metaphoric sense of dandelion fluff...
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Thank you ... though I'm not too sure what you mean by 'cotton tails' - something lost in translation as it crossed the Atlantic? xo
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Ah, another favourite to re-visit. Thank you for a good re-read. x d
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I have decided that my offerings of anything nice are utterly misconstrued. So, I offer Tupperware. It's what you get when you've been married for not quite long enough or, conversely, altogether too long. xx
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My Ex used to sell the damned stuff. It was about all she let me take when I upped and left. My mother liked it, so I went to live with her for a few years, proving it still had some currency.
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What a concept - the tupperware party. Hope you didn't come away from the union with what was called 'The Party Susan'. A hideous and pointless piece of plastic (as it's name implies..... {Note to self - back in the knife drawer Mrs Sharp}... a self obsessed piece of pointless plastic)... Ah, that feels better...... Bless Susan and all her white onions and cornichons!! xx
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Nah! My mother specialised in hot-pots with crusts and deep corned beef and potato plate pasties, so it'd be no use to her. But I do remember the monstrosity! What are cornichons??
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cornichons are very small pickled gherkins -otherwise known as frogs willies in our house.... xx got to change my name as a matter of ugency... speak soon mr sunshine. x
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Refuse to read any further than 4 verses and offer twenty quid. Slipshod bid as usual, no attention paid to the value of the lot..... xx that's folk for you
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Twenty quid - God, that's more than I've ever been offered. For anything.
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You can have my 20 notes just for being back!! AP's been piss poor without you. x
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Steven Wright once said, "Why is it a penny for your thoughts but you have to put your two cents in? Someone is making a penny." :-D I love that you've built an entire poem off of this silly cliche, and good luck in the contest!
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For a change that even works here in the UK [jokes frequently don't travel] ... though here we'd say 'two penn'orth']
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