there are no absolutes
and lately everything
makes me laugh
but that’s not to say
death isn’t final
and the gold ring on my finger
isn’t valuable
or that some days my eyes aren’t
more emerald than olive
i refuse to be bitter
yet sit here
sipping vinegar
singsonging my way
through another day
of valiant questions and
i’m certain i was meant to be a tree
nothing feeds me like sky
birds are my shelter and
i need roots to hold me
still
even as i crave wind in my hair
and words on my skin
crawling clawing genuflecting
on a surface of no definition
bent broken akimbo
lackadaisical limbs
circling stars in a pattern
of pretty
tracing sibilance
with long bony fingers
through the avarice
of dark’s last answer
.
.
.
.
Linking up with the fabulous dVerse poets for Open Link Night – join us!
October 29th, 2013 at 12:25 pm
refusing to be bitter…that is an important determination…nothing feeds me like sky..i like that…def some nice philosophy on life in this…
October 29th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
This is stellar:
singsonging my way
through another day
of valiant questions and
Simply wonderful…
October 29th, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Good to refuse to be bitter….life leaves us with so many questions ..love this line..i refuse to be bitter
yet sit here
sipping vinegar..and nothing feed me like the sky. I feel that way….
October 29th, 2013 at 3:15 pm
There are some brilliant metaphpors and contrasts in this poem.. Love the tension you create between those lines..
October 29th, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Your writing has become better and better of late. So far I’ve got nothing today, but maybe the poem fairy will yet pay me a visit.
October 29th, 2013 at 4:24 pm
“i’m certain i was meant to be a tree
nothing feeds me like sky” Absolutely beautiful.
October 29th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
God, defecation, & taxes are a few of the “absolutes” in our lives. Love the philosophy, the hope your piece conjures up. Truly, any answer found, or shared usually broadens the stage of inquiry, leading to another series of questions akin to the newer perspective; but for me this is a stimulating premise, and helps me to realize that we spend life in lesson, and truth and knowledge are prone to the exposure to new data, new insights.
October 29th, 2013 at 5:36 pm
reading this, then aloud, twice more, the pivot on “still” – what a stellar pen, Kelly ~
October 29th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
“i refuse to be bitter
yet sit here
sipping vinegar” chills reading this through.
October 29th, 2013 at 5:59 pm
The following is just golden verse.
but that’s not to say
death isn’t final
and the gold ring on my finger
isn’t valuable
or that some days my eyes aren’t
more emerald than olive
Continue such creativity for it is excellent poetry and speaks to those of us who love poetry and your poetic work.
October 29th, 2013 at 5:59 pm
really like this poem, ‘refusing to be bitter’ ‘sinsnging my way’, ‘through the dark’, yes, there are those times we yearn to be simply free standing as a tree, that the sky delights and birds come to nest offering song but the darkness seems to overwhelm and we have to fight the urge not to be bitter..profound words, nice imagery
October 29th, 2013 at 6:09 pm
Sometimes I think a tree has a good life…existing surrounded by nature, housing birds, and having the sky as a roof. We all need roots to hold us somehow…..
October 29th, 2013 at 6:30 pm
I like the idea of refusing to be bitter and laughing instead, Kelly! The imagery in your poem is beautiful.
October 29th, 2013 at 6:45 pm
My favorite part:
i’m certain i was meant to be a tree
nothing feeds me like sky
birds are my shelter and
i need roots to hold me
Beautiful Kelly ~
October 29th, 2013 at 7:46 pm
If you were a tree a dog might pee on thee, nasty lol
October 29th, 2013 at 8:04 pm
Very, very nice. I love how each line can stand completely on it’s own, yet goes so perfecting within the poem. Wonderful title, too! 🙂
October 29th, 2013 at 8:38 pm
very nice!
October 29th, 2013 at 11:33 pm
Here, here…I agree….said with just the right intonation and I love the analogy to a tree;)
October 30th, 2013 at 12:25 am
So much of this piece kicks, well – ass! 🙂
but in the end
it really lights up:
bent broken akimbo
lackadaisical limbs
circling stars in a pattern
of pretty
tracing sibilance
with long bony fingers
through the avarice
of dark’s last answer
I know that’s a hefty chunk to quote back-at-cha but I do love it but particularly ‘bent broken . . . for its flair but the pace is perfect leading me in to the light
UP! 🙂
October 30th, 2013 at 1:04 am
heck…love the images… the sipping vinegar but refusing to get bitter…the pondering of the value of things and their balance..
October 30th, 2013 at 1:23 am
This resonated very deeply with me. Especially the tree. Well done!
October 30th, 2013 at 10:00 am
Amazing piece, I truly felt this one. sipping vinegar spoke volumes.
October 30th, 2013 at 11:51 am
Oh! to laugh..is simply GOD..even a smile is GOD..so keep on godding is all I know…and observe the others stuff…as you go….
October 30th, 2013 at 2:33 pm
I love this, Kelly – especially the way it turns on that single word still at the heart of the poem.
October 31st, 2013 at 10:24 am
May as well smile, bitterness and vinegar will make life worse and worse. Everyone else goes on basically unaffected. Still hoping here.