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Open Poetry #48
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Alison
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Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318
Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy!

0 posted 2012-03-29 01:45 PM



The sun actually heats the dog-kissed/licked frosted
front window, catching dust motes
suspended from a winter-weary Ficus tree.
The dogs sprawl haphazardly on the window sill
and across the floor, like jigsaw puzzle
pieces, scattered – yet still connected;
while the cats languish in the unabashed warmth
of sun-lit light beams.

Outside, the snow is littered
with a fiesta of dog toys.
A rainbow of purple, green, yellow and blue
deformed Teddy bears loyally circle
a dismembered Pink Flamingo.
The empty garden cart lists to one side.  Tire still flat.
Bed, finally, ice-free and empty
of dried firewood and Birch bark.

An industrious Wood Pecker precariously clings
to the dirty, scarred bark of a Cottonwood tree,
punctuating the silence of early morning
with its monotonous tattoo.
Snow, schizophrenic, glistens like cheap
rhinestones on a little girl’s velvet party dress.
It is wrapped with a beautiful exterior,
but is no longer able to disguise the rotton
and dirtied underpinnings that push forth for freedom.
Like the wicked witch of the west,
it is melting, soon to be only a memory.

-

Alison

© Copyright 2012 Alison - All Rights Reserved
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
1 posted 2012-03-29 01:59 PM


WoW! There are so many vibrant and exciting lines inside the structure of this poem that it is mind-bogglingly. From the sun kissing warmth on everything it can touch through the window pane to (one of my best parts) "the rotton / and dirtied underpinnings that push forth for freedom."

From wood peckers to teddy bears to pink flamingos, this poem is razor sharp in describing the melting of the snow which changes everything it reaches. I could just gush on and on, because there a richness within this poem that you don't often see. Congratulations!

~*~ If they give you lined paper, write sideways. ~*~

Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
2 posted 2012-03-29 02:54 PM


Snow, schizophrenic, glistens like cheap
rhinestones on a little girl’s velvet party dress.
It is wrapped with a beautiful exterior,
but is no longer able to disguise the rotton
and dirtied underpinnings that push forth for freedom.
Like the wicked witch of the west,
it is melting, soon to be only a memory.


~*~

Jerry stole my WOW...so I will say thanks for the vivid imagery...and for the every day life you so excellently portray...


OwlSA
Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347
Durban, South Africa
3 posted 2012-03-29 02:56 PM


Alison, I feel I know your beloved country, your beloved home in all its nuances and details, and your most beloved animals (and camping trips), from your beautiful, vibrant, 3-dimensional poetry, better than I know my next-door neighbour's garden.  Needless to say, I read every Alison poem I come across, and enjoy every single one.  They are all gems, and this one is one of the most sparkling.

Owl

aujussy wolf
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Senior Member
since 2003-08-09
Posts 1215
Michigan
4 posted 2012-03-29 03:00 PM


You have great expression and lots of imagination!
jwesley
Member Rara Avis
since 2000-04-30
Posts 7563
Spring, Texas
5 posted 2012-03-29 04:09 PM


I can only echo the 'WOW!!', my friend. Just an awesome piece of writing. One you're going to have trouble ever topping. And with your skill, that's saying a lot.

j.


Nicole
Senior Member
since 1999-06-23
Posts 1835
Florida
6 posted 2012-03-29 04:24 PM


yes yes yes... I love this.  The last stanza is my favorite.  The tattoo of the wood pecker is brilliant; and schizophrenic snow...this is definitely one of my favorites of yours.
secondhanddreampoet
Member Ascendant
since 2006-11-07
Posts 6394
a 'Universalist' !
7 posted 2012-03-30 10:17 PM


Great imagery ... fine 'write' !
Margherita
Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236
Eternity
8 posted 2012-03-31 07:16 AM


One read will not be enough, dear Alison, for the images and emotions crowd playfully in my mind now.

Your pen has vanquished winter. Masterfully so.

Love,
Margherita

suthern
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Member Seraphic
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723
Louisiana
9 posted 2012-03-31 12:29 PM


Jerry may have gotten in the first WOW... but there's a chorus of us singing harmony on that notion! LOL Pour a cup of coffee, please, because I'm THERE... your images are that vivid and enticing!!! Love this... love you! *S*
Daddy Goose38
Member
since 2010-09-04
Posts 430
obama's a rice paper tiger
10 posted 2012-03-31 06:09 PM


O, spring time in the Arctic, Ali.
How you weave a ribbon through it.
Good for this loose goose.
Jaime

Daddy Goose38
Member
since 2010-09-04
Posts 430
obama's a rice paper tiger
11 posted 2012-03-31 06:19 PM


You don't want to be here, Ali.  It is 85 degrees, and you and the cats and trees and everything would just flash into a cloud of sub-atomic nothingness!!!

2islander2
Member Ascendant
since 2008-03-12
Posts 6825
by the sea
12 posted 2012-04-02 02:34 AM


hello alison, i so love that way of describing your place (i guess it is alaska) with accent about so much details that matter for everyone, this is a vibrant and colored painting and the emotion that spread is infinite,thanks a lot,


yann

Marchmadness
Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 9271
So. El Monte, California
13 posted 2012-04-02 02:42 AM


Love the way you bring us into your reality in such a beautiful way.
                            Ida

JL
Member Ascendant
since 2004-04-01
Posts 6128
Texas, USA
14 posted 2012-04-02 10:03 AM


"Outside, the snow is littered
with a fiesta of dog toys.
A rainbow of purple, green, yellow and blue
deformed Teddy bears loyally circle
a dismembered Pink Flamingo."

Sounds like some pups were having fun!
Love this write, A.

JL

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Maranatha!

Pilgrimage
Member Elite
since 2001-12-04
Posts 3945
Texas, USA
15 posted 2012-04-02 12:58 PM


Love the rhinestones and the wicked witch of the west references. Your pictures bring it all alive for me.

Nan (Pilgrim variety)

MICHELMAS
Member
since 2012-02-15
Posts 305
Lancashire England
16 posted 2012-04-03 07:58 AM


what a picture you paint
excellent
Michael

Michael
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-13
Posts 7666
California
17 posted 2012-04-03 11:56 AM


Wow.  You certainly know how to paint.  This is pure artistry.  I can see the underlining clearly bleeding through the, (out with the old, I guess), indefensible snow.  They say "change is good" ... you've proven it's even better to capture in a still-frame moment like this.  Truly enjoyable.

Michael

luminosity
Senior Member
since 2005-11-18
Posts 813

18 posted 2012-04-03 02:22 PM


ok, I am smiling a much needed smile, thank you for this incredible vision! for this incredible poetic offering.......
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