conversation on the corner
of dogma and 4th
.
see, i told you:
you can only get lost
when you’re following
someone else’s map
why don’t you ever listen
and
i heard she took everything,
even the cat
the rest gets drowned out
by a splashing bus and
the slap in the face
of exhausted exhaust
.
when the light turns red
and the crowd surges forward
my tall boots refuse to carry on
and i stand there
anchored
by two tiny pieces of
strange stranger’s conversation
smiling because
i know exactly
what she meant
and a mewling kitten
is winding
infinity
around my warm and silent
ankles
.
.
..
.
February 5th, 2013 at 9:17 am
Like many of your poems, I read this one aloud, again and again. A short movie; masterpiece theatre.
February 5th, 2013 at 9:30 am
A full story, beautifully and completely told.
February 5th, 2013 at 9:35 am
!!! i, too, read this aloud, 2nd item in my inbox this morning, the 1st deleted, this 2nd one – a story about map making – keeping me standing with you. listening, listening. tell me a story . . .
and i love the kitten at the end. very nice.
February 5th, 2013 at 10:49 am
you can only get lost
when you’re following
someone else’s map…oo nice one liner….and interesting too how our lives intersect…even strangers….the mewling kitten is a great closing touch as well…
February 5th, 2013 at 11:50 am
Beautifully told…and most of the time you can only get lost using someone else’s map …Love the ending 🙂
February 5th, 2013 at 12:18 pm
Fantastic storytelling in so few words. Some awesome lines in this piece. Great write!
February 5th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
That first stanza is amazing. Well done poem. I like how you could feel connected to a complete stranger just by hearing their outside conversation.
February 5th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
great capture of the moment, the convo and the feelings that go with it…yeah…def. good to follow our own maps..love the kitten closure pic
February 5th, 2013 at 1:28 pm
Lovely, absolutely lovely – where others overhear a banal conversation on public transport, you see poetry!
February 5th, 2013 at 2:13 pm
I love finishing the stories of strangers…snippets of conversation…inventing lives and characters from the randomness…love the capture you give us here…I can still hear the kitten 🙂
February 5th, 2013 at 3:10 pm
lively and thought stirring vignette. I love the tall boots, and your fun use of alliteration. OH the mewling.. : )
February 5th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
Another new favorite… sigh
February 5th, 2013 at 3:15 pm
“you can only get lost
when you’re following
someone else’s map” 🙂 I smile reading this simple great truth 🙂 lovely poem, Kelly 🙂
February 5th, 2013 at 3:19 pm
dear me, i am reminded of standing at the bus stop in chicago during the winter time – this is how it felt. thank you.
February 5th, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Kelly, this is wonderful. Love the kitten winding infinity around your ankles.
February 5th, 2013 at 3:36 pm
warm and silent ankles. i NEVER would have even remotely thought to add those 4 words. Yet they have music to them. and i smile that ‘she even took the cat’ ! good good write, as always. tilda
February 5th, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Love the title. A person who thinks other people’s thoughts instead of their own (or follows someone else’s path) used to be called a “square” – it’s an expression I think should come back.
P.S. I liked your feature at dVerse.
February 5th, 2013 at 4:10 pm
So true, we only get lost with someone else’s map. Love how you unravel this story. Beautiful.
February 5th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
This is such a wonderful piece. I love the first stanza. I have been a victim of following the wrong map myself! I’m glad I made my way to OLN tonight though!
February 5th, 2013 at 4:57 pm
Thought-provoking and thoughtful! Definitely hard to follow someone else’s map…..and when those boots won’t move, that is another problem! Smiles.
February 5th, 2013 at 5:09 pm
again, you take my breath away. this is so deeply poetic and resonating, and a joy to recite. thank you so much.
February 5th, 2013 at 6:10 pm
so many great images, such a great picture painted with words. love the strange strangers conversations.
February 5th, 2013 at 6:12 pm
great metaphors here, especially the one in the first stanza.
epideictic rhetoric
February 5th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Yes I think it is better to follow your own map in life. We can all make mistakes of the roads we take but at least we are trying to follow our heart. Well written and what a life cycle this one is. http://gatelesspassage.com/2013/02/02/reflections/
February 5th, 2013 at 6:56 pm
… so liked the touch of the kitten at the end
February 5th, 2013 at 7:30 pm
A wonderful capture of an instant–that evolves into another complete instant/story. Great idea and great execution.
SK
February 5th, 2013 at 7:33 pm
I like the snippet from your day…- A Free Verse
February 5th, 2013 at 7:56 pm
First, I need to say I enjoyed reading your interview at dVerse 🙂 Second, this is a little piece of awesome. Favorite part:
“my tall boots refuse to carry on
and i stand there
anchored
by two tiny pieces of
strange stranger’s conversation”
February 5th, 2013 at 8:43 pm
You are a great storyteller! I could feel the kitten at the end of the poem.
February 5th, 2013 at 8:49 pm
It seems your narrator found herself momentarily in someone else’s conversation. Love the kittens winding the ankles . . . great story of a moment catching one unexpectedly and so welcome. Nice.
February 5th, 2013 at 10:28 pm
You capture the scene delightfully, and I smile at the end with you. Made me ponder the enjoyment I get our of creating scenes from snippets of stranger’s conversation. Nice write, Kelly!
February 5th, 2013 at 11:14 pm
A superb title and my favourite word ‘mewling’too
that whole ending is so easy to feel in the reading . . . cats are sensual gateways to an infinite place for sure 🙂
February 6th, 2013 at 12:19 am
Oh I love how this flows just right and with bits of wisdom along the way. Wonderful again Kelly.
February 6th, 2013 at 1:10 am
Not sure why the bus that popped in my head was the crazy one from Harry Potter…. I’m sure that’s not what you intended. The kitten probably wasn’t really a witch either, huh? I’ll go back and try again.
February 6th, 2013 at 12:20 pm
loved this. every word.
February 6th, 2013 at 9:43 pm
I like the snatches of conversation by strangers ~
Great capture of the moment ~
February 6th, 2013 at 11:22 pm
You have a beautiful way of using words.
February 7th, 2013 at 4:38 am
There’s a little yellow star in the corner of my url bar because this is a favourite and a scene to which I will return time and time again. Perfect.
February 7th, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Copying lines to my journal, heck copy the whole thing. Put in the link. Read daily. So good. Love.