You lived at the corner of one and another
and tried to make ends meet
the paychecks came in and
the bills went out
and the cars went by and
you stayed in
and everything you
did without
you didn't need.
You sat before the picture window
looking down on the street
playing slow guitar
until your fingers would bleed
and then you turned on the radio
and let the white noise cut your
thoughts away
the static ate the dying day
and then you fell asleep.
The rain came in winter and flooded the stairwell
and flooded the street
you invested in sandbags and
paraphernalia designed to keep you afloat
but the rain washed in to steal your thoughts
and you let them go
the stormclouds hovered ominously
but your room was full of heat.
And sometimes the sunlight came in in bright colours
and faded between
the rungs of your bedframe
the strands of your hair
the echo of passing cars
thrashing the air
and the people going by don't
really seem to care –
you lived at the corner of
one and another
a pause in a one-way street.
Author notes
This poem is meant to be read aloud. The rhythm, though possibly not immediately apparent, was inspired by the poetry of A A Milnes.
Comments
-
Well, first of all, I must say
the other site is at a loss
for letting you slip away.
You have an innate gift
of pulling in the reader,
or the listener ( I felt
that before I saw the AN)
presenting the experience
of sitting next to you,
listening to the guitar,
seeing the people pass by
and pass by and pass by...
in this moment of time
gone by...
Entranced by it all
"...the static ate the dying day
and then you fell asleep."
just one example of a line
that one might say---
"I wish I had written that."
M-C
-
-
Thank you! It might help that my background is in fiction-writing, so I've got "show, don't tell" engraved on my brain somewhere. And since it's mostly in free-verse, the line breaks can mean a lot more than in a more structured form, and I make use of that.
I was really happy with that line when I first wrote this piece. I'm very glad you liked it, too - and the whole thing. Thanks again! -
-
Yes--I could tell that story telling--fiction was in your veins!
Hadn't had time to do any for years--painting a zillion hours a day--
but when I started the first--meant to be one piece--- it grew
and grew to tne parts "Quest" and then another did the same--
seems I am not a one installment person!!! -
-
Self-contained stories are difficult to do! There always seems to be more story to tell.
-
-
-
Adding your comment:
