her life
was never a walk in the park
when the sky
caved in on her
she sat down and wrote
3,633 poems
those life rafts of words
in turbulent storms
vivid and life giving
like the rainbow
countered
the heavy parcels of darkness
which seek her out occasionally
like all things weighed down
with venom and limitations
hard wired to extinguish sparkles of any kind
they float out to sea and sink eventually
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
it is likely
there are a few thousand more poems
left in her
one day she must make the time
to read them
and not be too disappointed to discover
they are not all masterpieces
Mid Week Motif - Poets United
Friday Writings...Poets and Story Tellers United July 2025
I like the idea of poems as 'those life rafts of words
ReplyDeletein turbulent storms'. I have certainly found that to be true.
Love that subtle image of rainbow here countering gross darkness.
ReplyDeleteRall, that was a good idea. Once in a while I go back to read, should do more. I'm not famous and my 'poems' mostly are not good. But I like to write, I hope most times worth at least a quick read. Comments are helpful and encouraging.
ReplyDelete..
As I do not have an affinity with blood sports, I will not read or comment on a poet's work who has launched a cowardly personal attack on another contributing poet regardless of who they are. Destructive dingo frenzied commentary attack en masse is too "Lord of the Flies" for my disposition. BTW Thank you for recommending " Oliver? Oliphant" ...enjoyed it immensely. "Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine" should be read by everyone.
DeleteThe world is not held together by people who make masterpieces, but by people who get up, put their shoes on, and walk to work every day.
ReplyDeleteOh well...if that is the case...reckon there must be a few masterpieces in that few thousand:)
DeleteThis is incredibly evocative!💖 I like the idea of poems being "life rafts of words
ReplyDeletein turbulent storms vivid and life giving
like the rainbow."😊
". . . like the rainbow
ReplyDeletecountered
the heavy parcels of darkness" What a great description of those life rafts we make out of words arising from our hearts. I wish mine were masterpieces, but frankly they are often too intimate to read critically. So who knows? And maybe the world has enough masterpieces and could use a journey of a different kind? Your poem gets me thinking. I hope there are thousands more.
Thank you Susan...
DeleteWhat makes a masterpiece? Who decides? A well informed recognised academic/critic.Need I go on?:)
ReplyDeleteI like this!
ReplyDeleteI love the "life raft of words" written to stave off the darkness. She has written a lot of poems. Me too. I love that we chart our journeys with our poems.
ReplyDelete3,633 poems! That's certainly no walk in the park. A brilliant response to the prompt.
ReplyDeleteNice when some of the thousands are shared to lift the spirits of readers too! (This blog always peps me up, one way or another.)
ReplyDeleteThose life rafts of words
ReplyDeletein turbulent storms Love love
I just write s a hobby but I like to go back and read
what I wrote before which is maybe 3 % of 3633 poems. That's quite something
Some walks we take are with words. I like the accounting of poems, 3, 633. Counting the poems like step counters count steps.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather say we can't create poetry to satisfy every person on earth. To me, NY poem that touches the soul of readers becomes a masterpiece.its a matter of perception..
ReplyDeleteLovely...I just love your poems, Rall.
We write to relieve the pent up pressure of our emotions that are seething inside us. If we don't write, we'll blow up and it won't be pretty. Writing masterpieces is not our reason for writing and I've read quite a few "bad" poems that have touched me, whereas there are many "masterpieces" that have left me cold. Keep on writing, my friend!
ReplyDeleteRe-reading this one now, I still (unsurprisingly) have much fellow feeling. And it puts me in mind of a thing I often think and sometimes say when I am going through 'stuff': 'What on earth do people do who aren't poets?'
ReplyDeleteOh I commented on this in the past and had nearly the same comment in my mind Loved the same line
ReplyDeleteYou poem really resonated for me- here’s to a thousand more poems to heal the way ahead - Jae
ReplyDelete"they float out to sea and sink eventually". I found that particularly sad.
ReplyDeleteNicely written. And the Rushdie quote is giving me some vibes.
ReplyDeleteI'd guess a lot of them would be free verse...but good free verse, on the whole.
ReplyDeletePK
You never know when you'll discover a hidden masterpiece!
ReplyDelete