Brushstroke, undercoat.
We labour for half a day before realising
the paint will never prove white enough;
as if the air itself has left it stained with some
intangible rot before it can find the wall.
There are scrapes behind the old piano,
where tiny nails dug their uncertainty
into the chalky plaster, and drummed
quiet patterns of light.
We sand them down and fill them in
like ghosts don’t exist.
Spent shag is torn and gone;
the concrete callous beneath stacked jarrah boards,
wordlessly pending crucifixion.
Frail spiders tiptoe from musty hideaways,
blind with proverbial faith in constancy.
I blink dust of decades
through the cracks in my eyes;
shuddering at their oversight.
Author notes
option #3.
CHANGE is one of my greatest fears.
even our current lounge-room renovation is disconcerting.
i am trying to come to terms with it.
>_<
A contest entry
- Multi-Options-Click Here and See if something inspires you by Hetha.
1000 points, ended March 3, 9 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Whispers of the Muse by SubKitten.
3045 points, ended May 19, 156 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 14 of 14
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Astounding imagery in this piece. The overall tone helped the piece's flow wonderfully. It's a very provocative piece overall.
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you arrange your words very beautifully. I'm glad I stopped to read. Keep penning, very nice work.
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why thankyou =D
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Its great... I love the spiders and the opening paragraph
its just Totally you the opening line kills... and you just had to get a shag in there somewhere... My least favourite was the 2nd stanza...
Actually it was perfect... Love it.
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This is almost prose-like, yet the device you have dotted within it, pulls it back in. I like the descriptions in this and the imageries and feel that overall, this is a good penning.
Good luck in the contest.
Laura
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This one is my favorite of yours. It reminds me a bit of T.S. Eliot, what with the earthy, modernist feel and all. Wonderful.
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old possum's book of practical cats by ts eliot is my bible.
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seems to be a fair replacement. i've only read excerpts from it, but i'm pretty familiar with his more heavy-hearted work, i.e. Prufrock, The Waste Land, etc...they are some of the best ever in my opinion, along with Ulalume and The Raven by Poe, and Nemesis by Lovecraft.
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I think you are doing well to coming to terms with such a change in your work environs. It's always an adjustment period. I remember doing some remodeling and make-ready work for both businesses and residential, spiders were only the beginning.
I love this style of contemporary and everyday subject matters, that makes for such great poetry in the right hands, and you make use of interesting and unique imagery and metaphor, that paints such a clear picture, without leaving out the human element. Change is scary, and I for one agree.
Thank you for your entry and good luck.
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thanks so much.
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REALLY well done!
And yes, I agree... Change is unbelievably scary... even though technically it's supposed to be a good thing...
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Nicely done. I enjoyed reading this. All the very best in the contest.
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There is nothing to fear from change, change means new growth, to stagnate is to diea slow boring death. Well written...Scott
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oh geez, im stagnating!
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