Boiling water makes steam
Steam captured, contained, creates pressure
Harnessed, finessed
Gives ability to do work
Provides production, locomotion
Puff, puff, puff
Water, whistles, wheels
Deliveries, deadlines, expansion
Blaring warning tones to get out of the way!
Pitch sinking in growing doppler distance
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
Even music calms down
when pressure drains away
Fourteen point six pounds
Holds every inch in together unnoticed
Travellers above the sky
Living without pressure
Atrophy, before they flee
home to you and me under pressure
Pressure me
To do what you want me to do
It might work
I can be harnessed, finnessed
If we are working together
Puff, puff, puff
Trusting you to reduce
The inner turmoils
That roils up fear and uncertainty
Producing the action that causes
Reaction in others
Behaviors that cycle offense
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
Simplify, rectify, edify
Using pressure only
To lift one another
up
Author notes
Thoughts on "Pressure." 14.6 pounds per square inch is atmospheric pressure at sea level. Very enamored with the film "Crash." Wonderful movie of social dynamics. How everyone was connected, and reacted in ways that precipitated the behaviors they found so offensive! Until they recognized, and began to turn around...
A contest entry
- TELL ME ABOUT IT..... by xwarriorXprincessx.
550 points, ended August 4, 2008, 52 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - National Poetry Day by cricketjeff.
1500 points, ended October 12, 2008, 14 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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Congratulations on the bronze cup, well deserved for a brilliant poem and a delight to read.
All the best
Sue
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Did you know on entering that one judge is a steam nut and one just loves steam trains
Great to see the use of the interpretation of the word work from physics rather than from every day life.
Great poem and a worthy cup winner.
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Wow, this is one steam train ride of a poem. In Bewdley, not a million miles from where I live there is the Severn Valley railway (Historical steam train society). You can fish the river Severn & watch the steam trains go by. You really get a feeling for the power of those things!
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You go from the particular to the universal seamlessly, taking an observation of a boiling kettle to a comment on human interactions. Very well done, I feel the pressure! And yes, I can relate to 'behaviours that cycle offense' in terms of my bucket poem about circles.
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Deliveries, deadlines, expansion
Blaring warning tones to get out of the way!
Pitch sinking in growing doppler distance
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
Even music calms down
when pressure drains away
We're all walking around ready to take another's head off, hurt another, take, blame or accuse the other.
When kindness is given, it's ignored or taken for granted. I can relate to each and every problem I face, and be better, or worse for it. I guess people have stopped noticing this.
The best part of the movie?
guuuulp...is when the Ludicrous character gets in the old white van, and he's realized what he's done, and he sits for a second, and then a smile bursts forth...kleenex...yeah. Makes me believe for a second all the bad bad stuff going on...will be for a purpose, and we're not seeing it yet.
Okay, here I go again, sorry.
Much love,
Jin
Crash. Yes. There's a song in there...hmmm...falling? Cannot remember, but it haunts. It's gorgeous. Yes, I love this. I get it. I get it. Ohmaaaaan, do I get it. I have Crash on DVD, and shall watch it tonight.
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http://allpoetry.com/poem/1853308
This just won a bronze. Note DProbertsons comment. This piece lgnored...
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intelligent. witty. wonderful.
this is so ani difranco-ish i can't even explain it. is this ani? haha only kidding.
this is so insightful and... meticulous. its somewhat in disarray yet it has a divine order... it makes perfect sense. so wise. it makes me really think and i love that it does so.
excellent work, dear. i respect this so very much.
best wishes and best of luck.
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