View RSS Feed

Reflections on the puddle of life

Phew!!!

Rate this Entry
9 Comments
by
TheFifthElement
, 12-21-2008 at 07:01 AM (1286 Views)
Release a big sigh of air...

I am finally finished for the Christmas holidays. My last week in work was as my last weeks in work before a break always are: manic! Finally got my two big hit projects finished in time for year end, though I found myself bringing work home three nights out of five, which is not good and not healthy but sometimes necessary.

And in a couple of days I'm going for a doctors appointment I've been putting off for a little while. But hopefully that will all go okay.

And then I'll be able and ready to relax for the holidays. Spend some nice time with the family and remind myself what all the hard work is all about. To see my kids smiling. It's better than anything else.

So, I hope everyone at Lit-net has a wonderful Christmas. No Boxing Day for my poor American buddies (I still find that strange!) but I'll be thinking of you when my belly is too stretched and bloated for me to get up off the couch on Dec 26th!

Merry Christmas, Everyone.

You know, I haven't written a poem for a while, or rather I haven't finished one. Then yesterday I wrote this (and I apologise, it's quite depressing) which is okay, for a start I guess. It was a random musing, don't expect it to make sense

What you don't know can't hurt you

You can’t see it
but inside I’m running down
an old street,
banging on the doors
that flap like wonky teeth
twisted in a cold grin,

and no one sees me.
The streets are empty,
abandoned like a child
even a mother didn’t want -
cast away, its basket
made from knotted lead;
absence of blanket,
no kiss-stain on its head.
Do I cradle it?
Wrap it in my arms and make it mine?
Do I name it?
Birth-damp and ugly,
my footsteps stammer with its cries.

Until I’m standing
staring at a cotton-ball filled sky,
and the emptiness is inconsolable.

Wishing you all the best, Lit-net!!!
Categories
Uncategorized

Comments

  1. PrinceMyshkin's Avatar
    Indeed it is a depressing poem - except for the vigour of its expression which often feels like a tacit triumph over the content no matter how bleak.

    And a Merry Christmas to you, dear Fifth! (But what is this news about the elimination of Boxing Day?)
  2. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    Ah, in the grand old USofA there is no such thing as Boxing Day. It is a Commonweath (and Greek!) thing. So whilst you and I are relaxing and resting off the excesses of the preceding day, our American friends will be back and hard at work!
  3. Virgil's Avatar
    Merry Christmas Fifth. Yes that's an interesting poem. A couple of cliches in there you might want to adjust.

    No we don't have Boxing Day here. I had seen it on our calendars as an international holiday but had never realized what it was. I usually take the week between Christmas and New Years off. End of the year and one has to burn vacation time that will expire. Other than perhaps my first year or two I can hardly remember ever working that week. Actually in recent years (recent being a decade for me ) I've taken the last two weeks of the year off. In fact I'm on vacation now. Hope things go well at the doctor. I will have my annual exam myself right after the New Year.
  4. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    Hey, thanks for reading Virgil. To be honest, I'm glad to be writing anything. Poetry in particular has been a bit thin on the ground for me. I find that if I'm writing stories I can't write poetry, and vice versa, so being a very short way through a novel is pretty crucifying!

    I wish I could get the Christmas holidays off. My workplace is open between Christmas and New Year and with so many people with families it's a bit of a battle. That being said, I don't mind being in work over those few days. It's usually quiet and I can get quite a bit of catching up done.

    Annual exams! That seems far too organised.

    And I'm now on a mission to get Boxing Day into as many threads as possible. Hmm, where to start?...
  5. andave_ya's Avatar
    Merry Christmas Fifth, and Happy Boxing Day and Happy New Year's!! I was caught unawares by the title of your poem because it's very similar to a Sarah Brightman song: "What you never know won't hurt you." It's a, yeah, melancholy poem, but still lovely .
  6. Virgil's Avatar
    You know I have the same trouble Fifth. I can either be writing fiction or poetry but not both. Strange. oh, and once you reach a certain age, everyone should get an annual exam. It really just consists of a blood test. And a little poking around. But blood tests are very important.
  7. 1n50mn14's Avatar
    I LOVE Boxing Day. Not that it matters, because I only work weekends, anyway, but the shopping is fantastic.
  8. motherhubbard's Avatar
    I hope you have a happy holiday, fifth!
  9. applepie's Avatar
    Merry Christmas to you as well! Hope that you and your children have a wonderful time. Meg