You are the Glass

[PrinceMyshkin]

for Andrzejka

You are the glass,
half-empty
or half-full,
it doesn’t matter.

You are the glass
that contains the water.

I hold it to my lips
and sip.
I long to drink deeply
but I sip
and sip.

I don’t know whether
the water will nourish
or transform me.

You are the glass
You are the glass.

[TheEarthIsRound]

for Andrzejka

I long to drink deeply
but I sip
and sip.

I don’t know whether
the water will nourish
or transform me.

You are the glass
You are the glass.


This is beautiful! I understand the water as the ecstasy/wisdom you get from having a relationship with the person. Having the longing but simultaneously putting of by some fear or preservation is what keeps the "sip and sip".

I do have the curiosity to ask: if the "you" now has no water, does it matter if your "lips" still hold onto the glass?

[PrinceMyshkin]

This is beautiful! I understand the water as the ecstasy/wisdom you get from having a relationship with the person. Having the longing but simultaneously putting of by some fear or preservation is what keeps the "sip and sip".

I do have the curiosity to ask: if the "you" now has no water, does it matter if your "lips" still hold onto the glass?

Thank you, but I never intended to suggest that the speaker has no water, but that he drinks it slowly, sip by cautious sip. One could, of course, drown in love - or swim in it!

[qimissung]

This is just beautiful, so simple, yet so sublime.

This is my favorite:

"I don’t know whether
the water will nourish
or transform me."

[hack]

It is beautiful Prince, I wish I had written it.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Dear Qimissung and Hack: thank you both. As for the simplicity of it, Qim, although I sometimes envy the richness of some of the other poets here, writing as simply as I can is something that has evolved. I'm nervous at times that it may look so easy - which in fact it often is! - but I've long outgrown the Puritan Ethic according to which only that which was difficult is of any worth.

[paperleaves]

It is wonderful. I wish I could find better words, but it left me speechless.

love
Kate

[Sampson]

As ever, amazing, deep, thought provoking... How do you do it Prince?

[symphony]

Beautiful. Just....beautiful.

[AuntShecky]

This is a nice piece, but that old saying, "Do you see the glass as half-empty or half-full?" always bothers the bejeezus out o' me.

Why is it always only "half"?

[PrinceMyshkin]

This is a nice piece, but that old saying, "Do you see the glass as half-empty or half-full?" always bothers the bejeezus out o' me.

Why is it always only "half"?

'Cos "three-quarters full" or "three quarters empty" defies anything except, perhaps, Quantum Math.

[~Sophia~]

It seems I'm always the fly in the ointment on your threads so, true to form, I'm going to say this poem is technically perfect as always but also rather clinical. I'm hard pressed to call this a relationship or romantic poem.

At first I thought of a child with a sippy cup following Mom around the house asking for more. In the end I thought - the N in this poem imparts little more than ambiguous feelings about the subject which is great if that is what you intended.

I can also appreciate that you seem to prefer to make observations rather than show any vulnerability in your writing. That's fine but, if you only ever dip your toe into the water it's true you won't drown but you also won't know the exhilaration of the swim. Most writers I known have to fight to keep too much emotion and angst out of their poetry. I see the opposite in your writing.

As I mentioned at the beginning - technically and grammatically flawless as always so - another gold star but perhaps you might consider that some risks are worth taking even if the critical acclaim is less than you are used to. I think that's where growth happens. This is all of course just my opinion (as they say on the writing workshop sites) " to be considered or tossed".

____________________________

ps: I'm sure it was just an oversight but you forgot to respond to paperleaves, Sampson and symphony when you posted a reply to AuntShecky.

Bonne journée!

[PrinceMyshkin]

It seems I'm always the fly in the ointment on your threads so, true to form, I'm going to say this poem is technically perfect as always but also rather clinical. I'm hard pressed to call this a relationship or romantic poem.

I haven't previously felt that you were the fly in my own (or anyone else's) ointment, and I may summarize the essence of your response - that this poem failed to move you - that is interesting to hear...


[QUOTE]I can also appreciate that you seem to prefer to make observations rather than show any vulnerability in your writing. That's fine but, if you only ever dip your toe into the water it's true you won't drown but you also won't know the exhilaration of the swim. Most writers I known have to fight to keep too much emotion and angst out of their poetry. I see the opposite in your writing.

"What is vulnerabilty" to paraphrase Pontius Pilate but, unlike him, I will gladly stay for an answer - except that, surely, each of us feels and expresses vulnerability in his or her own way? I took what I felt was the risk in this poem of stating to the subject that I wished I loved her in the way I believe she wanted/deserved to be loved, but alas I did not...


As I mentioned at the beginning - technically and grammatically flawless as always so - another gold star but perhaps you might consider that some risks are worth taking even if the critical acclaim is less than you are used to. I think that's where growth happens. This is all of course just my opinion (as they say on the writing workshop sites) " to be considered or tossed".

I struggle pretty constantly between my love of writing poetry for the potential of expressing truth, beauty &c. - and my damnable wish to be appreciated


____________________________

ps: I'm sure it was just an oversight but you forgot to respond to paperleaves, Sampson and symphony when you posted a reply to AuntShecky.
Thank you for the preceding. Will get on to that immediately!

Bonne journée!


It is wonderful. I wish I could find better words, but it left me speechless.

love
Kate

Oh, and have you stopped practicing sign language, my lovely, beloved friend? Thank you.


As ever, amazing, deep, thought provoking... How do you do it Prince?

If I were to stop and ask myself how I do whatever I do, I might never do it again! Thank you for your appreciation.


Beautiful. Just....beautiful.

Always grateful for your appreciation - especially in view of my great respect for your own poems, your unmistakable voice - now, alas, somewhat mute in the face of the cold Canadian winter

[~Sophia~]

Why do you do that Prince? Is it to increase the number of replies your poems have or just to keep your threads at the top of the page. Most people reply to all comments in one message. This is kind of transparent.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Why do you do that Prince? Is it to increase the number of replies your poems have or just to keep your threads at the top of the page. Most people reply to all comments in one message. This is kind of transparent.

Yes, I've been guilty of that in the past, but I've abandoned that practice. In this case, I'd simply overlooked those earlier responses. I spend a lot but not the whole of my time on the internet.

[sparr0w]

as always, beautiful my prince. good to see you're still plugging at it. long time no see. best love and wishes. May I quote this sometime?

[Le_Iris]

Very interesting)

[Bar22do]

Well, I didn't want to bump this up and kept myself from commenting as long as I could - but - whatever the value of this poem -
I find it really DISTASTEFUL that you would, in such a public manner, embarrass someone you claim you care for (even if in "lower-case love") and then compound the insult by discussing it on-line. By using her name you exposed her to an audience, not yourself.

In addition - regarding your other thread - the liberty you take with other people's work (your quoting Ff) is in my opinion UNACCEPTABLE. I wonder what the author thinks of it.
I also wonder how far you can go to beg attention. Art doesn't need tricks.


Bar

[PrinceMyshkin]

Well, I didn't want to bump this up and kept myself from commenting as long as I could - but - whatever the value of this poem -
I find it really DISTASTEFUL that you would, in such a public manner, embarrass someone you claim you care for (even if in "lower-case love") and then compound the insult by discussing it on-line. By using her name you exposed her to an audience, not yourself.

In addition - regarding your other thread - the liberty you take with other people's work (your quoting Ff) is in my opinion UNACCEPTABLE. I wonder what the author thinks of it.
I also wonder how far you can go to beg attention. Art doesn't need tricks.


Bar

You (and Sophia) are right in that I ought to have sought Ff's permission to have quoted a line of one of his poems in my "Mysterium tremendum, mysterium fascinans." I have PMed him my apologies with an offer either to replace that quotation or to delete the whole of the poem.

That I posted this current poem to my dear friend (after showing it to her) or any other of my poems "to beg attention" is to some extent true for me, as I might assume for any of us, but it is unkind and hurtful of you to characterize it this way.

Thank you, Le Iris and Sparr0w.

[Bar22do]

I'm sorry, it was unkind and hurtful of you to thus speak of your dear friend: IMHO.

[PrinceMyshkin]

I'm sorry, it was unkind and hurtful of you to thus speak of your dear friend: IMHO.

And yet, when I first showed it to her, she appreciated it. There is more to her and my love than I could display in a short, truthful poem. Of course, it would be difficult if not impossible for anyone to judge her and my relationship unless they had seen her and me together on at least one if not several occasions.