I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

21 August 2011

Texture


The Poem shivers, not with cold but fear.
Don’t rough me up, says Poem,
I’m not one of your tough ones. 
I don’t want lumps all over my surface, 
cracks in my fine skin, patches 
scraped raw, scars harsh to the touch.

I want, says Poem, some polish,
some delicacy, some finesse.
I need sensitive handling. Then
I shall reward you. You will feel
smoothness, easy passage to my heart;
softness, that can soothe your every pain.


From a Poetics prompt at dVerse
By -
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23 comments:

  1. Brian Miller21 August 2011 at 21:39

    nice...this reminds me a bit of Billy Collins Introduction to poetry...like the personification of the poem in this though...dont rough me up, let me stay smooth...grins..good stuff

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  2. Anonymous21 August 2011 at 22:03

    Clever... the poem comes to life.

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  3. Claudia21 August 2011 at 22:15

    ah this is beautiful rosemary...yeah...some of the poems need lots of care esp. when they're really close to our heart...love that you let the poem speak..

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  4. hedgewitch22 August 2011 at 00:11

    Yes, they do talk to us. You've nailed the prompt in your evocation of texture, and also let your verse quite literally speak for itself. Enjoyed it.

    PS That orchid(?) photo in your sidebar is incredible--like an alien life form.

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  5. Rosemary Nissen-Wade22 August 2011 at 00:54

    Thanks, all. I have read such wonderful stuff in response to this prompt! I'm glad you like my effort.

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  6. Rosemary Nissen-Wade22 August 2011 at 00:59

    Dear hedgewitch, I chose that orchid to go with this poem: Animal (even though the one in the poem is clearly male and this one's clearly not).

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  7. Scarlet22 August 2011 at 01:30

    I like the soft and delicate poem of yours. We express ourselves differently though, some soft, while others want it rough and gritty. But I do agree that the muse needs all our attention and delicate handling.

    Happy day ~

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  8. Lodo Grdzak22 August 2011 at 01:39

    Well "Poem's" gonna have to face the real world one day. Unless she can find a job at Hallmark.

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  9. Victoria22 August 2011 at 01:52

    Rosemary--I love your personification of "Poem" and you brought in how textures interface with emotions such as fear. Thanks for joining us.

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  10. Laurie Kolp22 August 2011 at 06:10

    Rosemary- I can picture this piece framed and hanging on the walls of editors, English teachers, etc.

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  11. Rosemary Nissen-Wade22 August 2011 at 07:31

    Dear Heaven, Actually this poem is not speaking for others, and knows that there are some 'tough ones' out there.

    Dear Lodo, She does come across as a she, doesn't she? Even though I tried to be gender-neutral. As for Hallmark — no child of mine! Or so I devoutly hope. I like Laurie's suggestion that she might end up working in a school or for a publisher.

    Dear Laurie, what a lovely fantasy!

    Dear Victoria, thank you for an inspiring prompt. :)

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  12. kaykuala22 August 2011 at 07:48

    The Poem gets personified and tended to be alive. If we treat it so it'll be grateful to our touch. Beautiful verse!

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  13. Jenne' R. Andrews 22 August 2011 at 08:22

    Lovely-- and I love your title. Thanks so much for reading my heavy poem..xxxj

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  14. Anonymous22 August 2011 at 08:55

    I enjoyed this, thank you for the smile (esp. 'no child of mine' in the comments).

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  15. Rosemary Nissen-Wade22 August 2011 at 10:38

    It's lovely to know you all enjoyed it. I'm sure Poem is very gratified too. :)

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  16. Fireblossom22 August 2011 at 11:07

    Hmm, a negotiator!

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  17. Dave King22 August 2011 at 20:39

    Lovely. What fun it would be if our poems, which do make such demands upon us, could put those demands into words and could interrogate us! It's a brilliant conceit.

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  18. Mary22 August 2011 at 21:26

    I love this poem, the way you gave voice to a particular poem. I have had poems "speak" to me sometime too, had sat down to write something deep and dark and the poem 'said' no, not today!

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  19. Unknown23 August 2011 at 00:33

    Giving this poem life.......what a brilliant idea. Lovely!

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  20. Sherry Blue Sky23 August 2011 at 02:56

    I TOTALLY love this, and what a cool idea, to have the poem address the poet. Love it!

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  21. Rachel Hoyt23 August 2011 at 08:30

    I agree with the others. This poem comes to life. This flower feels like a person. Beautiful write. :)

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  22. Rosemary Nissen-Wade23 August 2011 at 12:09

    Seems like other poets know just what I mean, lol. Thank you all for the kind comments.

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  23. Liz Rice-Sosne23 August 2011 at 12:47

    I liked it, never thought about wrestling a poem before ... and LOVE the color of that pink ... have a bedroom that color.

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