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Open Poetry #42
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icebox
Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383
in the shadows

0 posted 2008-03-01 02:41 PM





Standing bare footed in snow,
stripped to the waist
in sleet and freezing rain,
my aging body
the least of all my ache,
I needed
without being vain
to feel alive,
to know
to clarify
with simple joy
by yielding sanity to pain
just to rerun your last brief phone call,
precisely cultured voice
so wasted
on this old barbarian
breezy shadows
of polite conversation
empty wishes
of unfeeling concern
hollow thoughts
of self indulgence
hasty fabrications
of well mannered choice
clutter in my mind again
as scattered gatherings
left as if...
alms from guilty wealth
bestowed to feed impoverished memory,
before I dropped it all and any
in the whirlpool of the lost.

©2008 by icebox

.

[This message has been edited by icebox (03-01-2008 05:10 PM).]

© Copyright 2008 icebox - All Rights Reserved
nakdthoughts
Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200
Between the Lines
1 posted 2008-03-01 02:55 PM


to feel alive,
to know
to clarify
with simple joy
by yielding sanity to pain
I am not sure which part of  this poem I like the most...all of it was touching

M

Artic Wind
Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 8080
Realm of Supernatural
2 posted 2008-03-01 03:03 PM


Very touching indeed

ARCTIC WIDN

secondhanddreampoet
Member Ascendant
since 2006-11-07
Posts 6394
a 'Universalist' !
3 posted 2008-03-01 04:31 PM


simply EXCELLENT!

I am particularly fond of:

"...breezy shadows
of polite conversation
empty wishes
of unfeeling concern
hollow thoughts
of self indulgence
hasty fabrications
of well mannered choice  
scattered gatherings...
left as...
if alms from guilty wealth
bestowed to feed impoverished memory,
before I dropped it all and any
in the whirlpool of the lost."

v. serious and long-sustained applause!!

icebox
Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383
in the shadows
4 posted 2008-03-01 05:18 PM


Thank you all for your thoughts.

secondhanddreampoet - I was not comfortable with the last several lines and I could not get it right until I read your comment.  Thank you,

serenity blaze
Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738

5 posted 2008-03-01 06:29 PM


purification through pain

(it's like the inquisition all over again!)



We need a "rack" smilie. Hmm. Maybe not.

But youuuuuuuuuuu? Well, you're one of them that I knew instantly...and yep, you know all I know and more than I care to.

I'll just keep making my dots. Somebody else can connect 'em.  

Thank you lovie.

For the calvary. Remind me to tell you about whirlpools, the kiddie pool and my seeeeeeeeeeeeeesters. *chuckling*

(You know you're bored when you make your own danger.)

Toldja.

I'm learning.

grin

simon
Member
since 2008-01-14
Posts 440
London, England
6 posted 2008-03-01 06:35 PM


As you probably know I am a big fan...
LadyTom
Member
since 2008-02-29
Posts 353
LA, CA
7 posted 2008-03-01 06:45 PM


very good. Strength!!!
love the read.

Margherita
Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236
Eternity
8 posted 2008-03-01 06:54 PM


my aging body
the least of all my ache,
I needed
without being vain
to feel alive,
to know
to clarify
with simple joy
by yielding sanity to pain


So powerful, dear icebox, so intense and so poignant.

Wonderfully written, dear Poet.

love
Margherita

Midnitesun
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Empyrean
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647
Gaia
9 posted 2008-03-01 09:30 PM


Like Ser says, maybe (or not) we need a rack icon?
You always manage to peel away the outer layers, exposing raw truth. You are rock solid.

Marchmadness
Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 9271
So. El Monte, California
10 posted 2008-03-02 02:56 AM


I am always touched by your writing, IceBox.
I am definately a fan.
                               Ida

effjayel
Senior Member
since 2007-09-30
Posts 1474
At the Crossroads of Infinity
11 posted 2008-03-02 07:13 AM


Icebox

The title pulled me in & I am so glad it did, this is a fine piece of work...was the title inspired by Michael Connoly's writing by any chance, I was thinking it was something Hieronymous Bosch once said?
Cheers  John

icebox
Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 4383
in the shadows
12 posted 2008-03-02 10:09 AM


Again to all, thank you for your time and your thoughts.

effjayel - Yes, good catch!  It is from The Overlook, It is a saying I have heard since youth in several places where death and dying were too common for the sensibilities of the human soul to endure unhardened.  As Connelly's character says, "We are all circling the drain," at times, I need focus to feel the undertow.



Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049
California
13 posted 2008-03-02 10:48 AM


C...."I need to feel alive"

A child stands on the sand in winter cold, his skin alive with goose bumps, and a mix of fear and excitement obvious in his eyes. His father takes his hand and runs with him into the cold ocean.  A polar bear cub emerges, feeling proud for the courage of his discomfort.

Your poem brought me thought ... an excellent thing for a poem to do. The bare-bones honesty, touched me.  

effjayel
Senior Member
since 2007-09-30
Posts 1474
At the Crossroads of Infinity
14 posted 2008-03-02 01:32 PM


Superb, I just love Bosch, I have read all of Connolys books & have just finished The Overlook. I don't know about you but when I pick up one of his books, I find it impossible to put down...in fact, the very first one I ever read was The Poet...

Thanks!  John

Honeybunch
Member Rara Avis
since 2001-12-29
Posts 7115
South Africa
15 posted 2008-03-02 01:37 PM


icebox - Your writes are always thought provoking and certainly powerful.  I think there's still a lot more to come out from the "freezer" to be mulled over by those who wish to broaden perspectives and understand a bit more about life. I'll be waiting.
passing shadows
Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577
displaced
16 posted 2008-03-02 01:38 PM


very inspiring to me

this one is a

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