You could write a book using this poem as the skeleton and each verse a chapter...the last two lines illustrated in silhouette...OR...you could write a song because I could hear a mysterious musical element floating around while I was reading it. But another poet like the people in our group can read the whole story just like it is...poignant!
Not sure who "Nobody" is. It can be different each time, but this time I suspect it's a former student of mine who I invited to come join the group. I hope she does. She's an excellent poet.
this poem should be a song. songs and poems are practically the same anyway. burglar alarms no good where i used to live...they would just steal the alarm - love - paul.
i want to know why did she have to lie? why did she have to say goodbye? why did she leave with my baby in her tummy? i need to know where she did go why did she think evil was funny?
enough!!!! knowing nothing was knowing too much logic and literature i do bring but your soul i never could touch knowing i would never give you that magic ring
why do i pay for electricity it's invisible to me i want to know why love is all i can see to be, or not to be i want to know the internal workings of a tree and the mind of a honey bee also like to know why people watch t.v.
i'd also like to know why the library closes early on a weekend, why i'm put on hold for 45 minutes and why drunks pick train stations to fight on bonita. some mysteries are unknowable - love - paul.
my replies are all over the place this week. i blame the gigs, old friends and chilean wine ha ha. you are right tash. starts off serious and gets progressively sillier. got one more poem, i'm gonna slip under the wire later - love paul.
What do I want to know? will the chemo work for me only to put me back in renal failure? the irony of beating cancer only to die of kidney failure would be the biggest joke of all But past that is there a reason for our lives, our pains, our fears, the daily trials and triumphs? in the end does mean anything or was it all just wasted time lost in vagueness Will the world end in another big bang blow us all into oblivion? or an arctic freeze burying us in ice Will new beings inhabit the earth find our bones and study the creatures who once roamed the earth My thoughts ramble from here to there no rhyme or reason to the flow just questions that remain unanswered Perhaps I may never know or understand the why of now or the promise of tomorrow
All good questions, and what will we ever know, I wonder, until the time comese. Ah, that slippery stuff. A good ramble and I agree with Pul and Victoria about the last 3 lines.
very dark for you bonita. but you are in a dark place " will the world end in the daytime...or will the world end in the night time...i really don't know " - the smiths - love - paul.
good job i don't pay for my electricity. usually leave the place before the court summons turns up. as for watching t.v. if i wanted to see stooopid idiots being stooopid, i'd move back to sunderland. thanks vic - love - paul.
I want to know where the time goes. It slips through me like a tear or a blink, and is gone with a wink but where? If only I knew I would seek it out, find it and Put it back where it belongs.
The slippery moments won't stay Not even in my memory, sometimes. Then when I breathe, or sigh To my surprise I find a moment that escaped the net that sweeps it All away when I have not paid attention.
I cherish my time. I even try to hoard it. Yet that does not work; it still escapes into that mysterious somewhere I cannot discover, no matter how I try. I have sought it in vain, only to have it elude me time and time again.
I wish somehow I could make time I'd keep it safe and sound and just for me. So then I'd always have enough. If only the recipe were available. Then where might I discover the ingredients, Perhaps in some mysterious, hidden tome.
The clocks I watch count my moments, even as they pass beyond my grasp. I want to find time so as to have it to get done what remains undone because I could not lure the moments from wherever it is they hide themselves from me.
I feel like Paul, quoting songs but this made me think of the Judy Collins song, "Who knows where the time goes." And yes, your poem really struck a chord. I can't believe how much of my life I've wasted by letting time slip away.
lightening struck, fire was created knowledge of light in the darkness of juicy cooked piglet and roots and we moved on and on the light bulb, the telephone radio and television.. real knowledge, abstract knowledge knowledge I'll never understand knowledge I'll never know exists And we think that we're so smart but we find ancient artifacts that clearly show a civilization with more knowledge than ours
Interesting take on he rompt. Nice, nd fun to think about. BTW I hope you saw that I did comment on your poem for last week. Hope you liked my Time piece. (Ha ha pun)
yep those egyptians knew what was going on. you don't have a five thousand year empire by being stupid. fun bit of knowlege. honey buried with pharoahs in ancient egypt is still edible today. apparently honey never goes off. guess humans will end up fighting for the last honey comb...oh, well - love - paul.
my friend's horse and best friend dixie rose died the other day. i wrote her this poem. it sortta fits in with the promt.
ROSE
my friends horse died today i want to know why horses die and scumbag junkie pimps just pass on by is there a horsie heaven where they get to play and eat hay all day
what's dixie's friend blue gonna do he doesn't understand about death .....just take another breath.
a priest once told me that animals don't go to heaven. i asked him " then in what sense is it heaven with no animals there? sorry padre, but i'm not interested in a place like that " - love - paul
And I just happen to have a poem that exactly fits the bill!
ReplyDeleteFOR CERTAIN
I am uncertain what will happen
tomorrow, if I will wake up cold
or if I will want to eat breakfast.
I do not know if my car will be stolen
while I sleep or if a thief will come
through my window and steal my worthless
record albums, ancient stereo.
If I want absolute certainty,
I can not even know if the moon
will bring tides or if the sun will rise
tomorrow. "Now I lay me down to
sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep."
To hell with my soul, I want to know
things, like, will I lose my memories
when I get old? I want to know when
my heart will not hurt each time it beats,
and if my lover loves me, flawed,
yet capable of love for him, flawed
as he is also. I can protect
myself from many things, club on my
steering wheel, burglar alarm at home.
I can put a gun under my head,
a condom on my lover's cock, but
I wear nothing to protect my heart.
I leave my windows open at night.
I need the breeze over my naked
body. I'll take my chances with thieves.
what a powerful write! awesome!
DeleteYou could write a book using this poem as the skeleton and each verse a chapter...the last two lines illustrated in silhouette...OR...you could write a song because I could hear a mysterious musical element floating around while I was reading it. But another poet like the people in our group can read the whole story just like it is...poignant!
DeleteLove this poem!! Great prompt too!
DeleteWho is Nobody? Been curious about that for a little while
DeleteNot sure who "Nobody" is. It can be different each time, but this time I suspect it's a former student of mine who I invited to come join the group. I hope she does. She's an excellent poet.
DeleteGood poem and as usual, very provocative. You do such a lovely job!
Deletethis poem should be a song. songs and poems are practically the same anyway. burglar alarms no good where i used to live...they would just steal the alarm - love - paul.
ReplyDeleteKNOWING TOO MUCH
Deletei want to know
why did she have to lie?
why did she have to say goodbye?
why did she leave with my baby in her tummy?
i need to know where she did go
why did she think evil was funny?
enough!!!! knowing nothing was knowing too much
logic and literature i do bring
but your soul i never could touch
knowing i would never give you that magic ring
why do i pay for electricity
it's invisible to me
i want to know why love is all i can see
to be, or not to be
i want to know the internal workings of a tree
and the mind of a honey bee
also like to know why people watch t.v.
from the serious to the sublime.. but all interesting things to want to know...
DeleteEnjoyed this one a lot. I actually think the last stanza would stand alone as a stronger poem.
Deletei'd also like to know why the library closes early on a weekend, why i'm put on hold for 45 minutes and why drunks pick train stations to fight on bonita. some mysteries are unknowable - love - paul.
DeleteYou do have two poems here, the first two verses as the first, the last verse as another. I think you could extend that one as another poem entirely.
Deletemy replies are all over the place this week. i blame the gigs, old friends and chilean wine ha ha. you are right tash. starts off serious and gets progressively sillier. got one more poem, i'm gonna slip under the wire later - love paul.
DeleteWhat do I want to know?
ReplyDeletewill the chemo work for me
only to put me back in renal failure?
the irony of beating cancer
only to die of kidney failure
would be the biggest joke of all
But past that is there a reason
for our lives, our pains, our fears,
the daily trials and triumphs?
in the end does mean anything or was it all
just wasted time lost in vagueness
Will the world end in another big bang
blow us all into oblivion?
or an arctic freeze burying us in ice
Will new beings inhabit the earth
find our bones and study the creatures
who once roamed the earth
My thoughts ramble from here to there
no rhyme or reason to the flow
just questions that remain unanswered
Perhaps I may never know
or understand the why of now
or the promise of tomorrow
Love this. As Paul said, very dark. I actually think you dno't need the last three lines.
DeleteAll good questions, and what will we ever know, I wonder, until the time comese. Ah, that slippery stuff. A good ramble and I agree with Pul and Victoria about the last 3 lines.
Deletevery dark for you bonita. but you are in a dark place " will the world end in the daytime...or will the world end in the night time...i really don't know " - the smiths - love - paul.
ReplyDeletegood job i don't pay for my electricity. usually leave the place before the court summons turns up. as for watching t.v. if i wanted to see stooopid idiots being stooopid, i'd move back to sunderland. thanks vic - love - paul.
ReplyDeleteoops! reply in the wrong place. i blame the chilean wine - paul.
ReplyDeleteWhat I Want to Know
ReplyDeleteI want to know where the time goes.
It slips through me like a tear
or a blink, and is gone with a wink
but where? If only I knew
I would seek it out, find it and
Put it back where it belongs.
The slippery moments won't stay
Not even in my memory, sometimes.
Then when I breathe, or sigh
To my surprise I find a moment that
escaped the net that sweeps it
All away when I have not paid attention.
I cherish my time. I even try to hoard it.
Yet that does not work; it still escapes
into that mysterious somewhere
I cannot discover, no matter how I try.
I have sought it in vain, only
to have it elude me time and time again.
I wish somehow I could make time
I'd keep it safe and sound and just for me.
So then I'd always have enough.
If only the recipe were available.
Then where might I discover the ingredients,
Perhaps in some mysterious, hidden tome.
The clocks I watch count my moments,
even as they pass beyond my grasp.
I want to find time so as to have it
to get done what remains undone because
I could not lure the moments from
wherever it is they hide themselves from me.
I feel like Paul, quoting songs but this made me think of the Judy Collins song, "Who knows where the time goes." And yes, your poem really struck a chord. I can't believe how much of my life I've wasted by letting time slip away.
Deleteso profound and sad... time does have a way of slipping away unnoticed and one day it's just gone... well written
DeleteThanks for the kind comments. I have written a lot of poems about time, and find it to be a fascinating subject.
Deletetime is like dry sand tash. the harder you squeeze it the more it slips between your fingers - love - paul.
Deletelightening struck, fire was created
ReplyDeleteknowledge of light in the darkness
of juicy cooked piglet and roots
and we moved on and on
the light bulb, the telephone
radio and television..
real knowledge, abstract knowledge
knowledge I'll never understand
knowledge I'll never know exists
And we think that we're so smart
but we find ancient artifacts
that clearly show a civilization
with more knowledge than ours
so much we will never know... well done
DeleteInteresting take on he rompt. Nice, nd fun to think about. BTW I hope you saw that I did comment on your poem for last week. Hope you liked my Time piece. (Ha ha pun)
Deleteyep those egyptians knew what was going on. you don't have a five thousand year empire by being stupid. fun bit of knowlege. honey buried with pharoahs in ancient egypt is still edible today. apparently honey never goes off. guess humans will end up fighting for the last honey comb...oh, well - love - paul.
Deletemy friend's horse and best friend dixie rose died the other day. i wrote her this poem. it sortta fits in with the promt.
ReplyDeleteROSE
my friends horse died today
i want to know why horses die
and scumbag junkie pimps just pass on by
is there a horsie heaven where they get to play
and eat hay all day
what's dixie's friend blue gonna do
he doesn't understand about death
.....just take another breath.
so sad... sorry about the horse!
DeleteActually yes, there is a horsie heaven and I have a friend whose horse is there.
Deleteall animals go to heaven, except spiders. dunno where humans go bonita " a rose by any other name would smell as sweet " - billy shakespeare.
Deletea priest once told me that animals don't go to heaven. i asked him " then in what sense is it heaven with no animals there? sorry padre, but i'm not interested in a place like that " - love - paul
Delete