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Open Poetry #34
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On that Bridge of Sighs
| Open Poetry #34 |
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On that Bridge of Sighs |
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RSWells Member Elite
since 2001-06-17
Posts 2533
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"Loneliness is like a hammer blow that shatters glass but hardens steel." -Amos Oz "A Tale of Love and Darkness" . . . . Driveway an off ramp, front door a heavy hatch median an uncompromising structure Goodyear, Dupont kept 30 second clock Ka-thunk! Ka-thunk! Hammer to a coffin Shelter, Oasis,* 263 Prinsengracht,* steely crane firm in the Industrial Canal “sex undetermined” in that cranny of a tomb, before eye’s glazed did memory keep you warm? Wished or walking dead erase, deny theirs, in the end that’s all the living own Forged, forgotten framework, the High Rise Bridge long cached your silent, shattered chassis Westbound traffic was diverted while you were “cleared away,” coroner “We’ve nothing but bones” It, the skeleton in faded men’s clothes, bagged and bundled off to LSU Traffic was resumed shortly before noon . . . . . http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-6/110292115668440.xml *Oasis was an ice cream shop in Amsterdam which Anne Frank would frequent before forced into hiding at *263 Prinsengracht |
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| © Copyright 2004 Richard S. Wells jr. - All Rights Reserved | |||
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LeeJ Member Patricius
since 2003-06-19
Posts 13296 |
what images your mind conjures up... Tremendous |
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Gentle Spirit Member Patricius
since 2000-10-09
Posts 13989 |
reading you is such a treat, you write with such vivid imagery. Well done Richard.  The greatest beauty on earth, is |
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Mysteria 
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
You know that was some spectacular write, but the last line ... doesn't that about sum up life in general? Sad, but true. Hey, can you find something cheerful to write about  in that reading of yours? Find me a miracle or two would be wonderful. |
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Enchantress Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113Canada eh. |
Amazing writing Sir. Very well done! |
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RSWells Member Elite
since 2001-06-17
Posts 2533 |
Thank you all for reading as well as responding. Sharon, I figured that is why I was getting the pariah treatment, because I won't don the elf suit. Well one need only get banged into by shopping carts shoved by surly saints, his car dinged by the me-firsters at the mouths of parking spaces or drivers distracted by guilty persuits and trapped in the middle of a movie or football game by the increasingly bizarre and wasteful products advertised as though love itself can be obtained in their purchase for 50 years before seeing what a farce the whole thing is. For 'good christians' to present a facade for a week out of 52 and backslide the other 51 is no source for merriment, au contraire. There is still a war going on in the wrong place for the wrong reasons, Bin Laden yet runs loose and if you go to google news and type in 'body found' you'll find over 35,000 sites...in yuletide or any other time. I still love the music but the words are coming out parody. Grinch? Sure but pinch this grinch and you'll see he's awake. But tomorrow night I'll post a gentler poem and this week perhaps a humorous one. |
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Mysteria
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
Kewl beans upbeat is good  , and to be honest, I am so far from ho-ho-ing, you have no idea, as there is far more sadness around me than merriment. However, you can't explain that to a child so on goes the elf hat I am afraid, rather than not see those smiles. |
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Decaflame Senior Member
since 2001-05-11
Posts 1635 |
Richard, you are no pariah, but a gentle poem wouldn't hurt, either, especially when some of us need to fold into anothers words for some hint of hope, even if the hope is only in the warmth of the folding hold... as for the poem, one must admire the way your mind holds onto a tangent, and how you bring the present together with the past, referring to the Anne Frank note... Thank you, Sir. |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Richard, the mention of Prinsengracht... the thumping of tires, both made me think about the self-imprisonment some people choose, contrasted against the way others fight to the end to break from a restrictive cruel bondage. Perhaps, the person underneath the bridge did not die of his/her own hands, yet the scene set itself for just such an interpretation. Perhaps it was an accidental drowning case, or some other mishap that led to the lonely demise of the blue-jean body. Anyway, the write triggered many thoughts, including one about cats. I wrote one called 'Peterscat' that was triggered by that address, which I stood in front of many years ago. (I chose not to go into Anne's house that day.) 'Peterscat' is a short poem about hiding; not much of a write, but I think I'll post it, to let that furry little ghost free. /pip/Forum91/HTML/002105.html [This message has been edited by Midnitesun (12-16-2004 10:36 AM).] |
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RSWells Member Elite
since 2001-06-17
Posts 2533 |
Ah, the old ‘good guy/gooder guy’ routine eh? The poem, or anyone else perhaps, doesn’t know how the individual met his/her end. However, as the story goes, it was in a recess of a bridge with an uninspired name, over a body of water known as the “Industrial Canal,” accessible only by lifting a hundred pound metal hatch with traffic passing over it approximately every “30 seconds.” ‘It’ may have been one of the many homeless seeking shelter, perhaps drifted down from a northern winter as far south as geographically possible. ’It’ may have been one of the millions of truly mentally unbalanced who no longer have much recourse through the shifting of tax dollars from benefiting society to altering other societies, may be the dumped evidence of the ultimate crime. It was an ignominious end however ‘it’ got there. And a 50% chance ‘it’ lay there until starving to the bone. I doubt it was suicide. The poem would have hoped to suggest the callous manner a society incredibly steeped in accepting violence is presented as wholesale fare the bare bones of the facts and the cold, dehumanized description of another ‘passed over’ tragedy as though it weren’t even a speed bump of inconvenience, merely another by-product of unsightly rust belt architecture, an minor archeological curiosity, a skeleton. Hope, yes I’ve written of hope. We don’t need much; “A single candle in a darkened room, Doth offer hope despite the greater gloom And cause life's focused eye to settle there, The tiny flame so used to fight despair.” /pip/Forum48/HTML/002047.html and from Percy Bysshe Shelley “To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite; To forgive wrongs darker than death or night; To defy Power which seems omnipotent; To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates From its own wreck the thing it contemplates; Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent; This like they glory, Titan, is to be Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free; This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory.’ From "Prometheus Unbound" We must be cautioned that hope becomes not dope, like Karl Marx’s “opiate of the masses,” but remember that hope is also Wang Weilin standing against the flow of tanks in Tiananmen Square. http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm25.html As to the unfortunate discussion after the poem, let me say the “Christmas spirit” is great. How much greater were it not the forced smile of a week’s duration? Sharon has the right idea, it’s for small children to enjoy and adults to enjoy their enjoyment. How fortunate you are to have your gorgeous granddaughters around you and a warm fire, in a home all flesh as well as bone. And I’m certainly not singling Sharon out for she’s one of the most generous people I know and is well aware of how lucky she is as well as acutely aware of how unfortunate other’s are. There is hope, plenty of it. If nowhere else than in our children, who too soon realize the dream of Santa Clause was just that and sometimes too late that there is no Prince Charming or damsel who would heal all with a kiss. Tonight two hope poems, for good reason. I promise. |
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latearrival Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499Florida |
RSWELLS: So apt a name, for your mind is so prodigious. It never ceases... What a gift you have. To take, what to others is mundane, and cause them to think beyond the edge.You are a true teacher. I too thought first of a homeless person seeking shelter. It doesn't matter. Your last line does. Thank you for sharing your gift. marty |
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Mysteria
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
I wish to add a thought to this, and thank you for your kind compliment Richard, as to me as you know, there is no greater gift on earth than my family or friends, and no greater love than that of a child. The Homeless Souls ~ As you also know, the homeless are very close to my heart, for many reasons, but the main one being any one of us could in an instant wear their shoes. To judge them is to judge ourselves, for they too are God's children and are entitled to the same as us all. Children ~ out of the mouth of my own granddaughter came these words to someone who was homeless at the dinner we all served at, when a girl not even a year older than her told informed her there was no Santa at all. She said,"Yes there is, even you are sort of a Santa, and my Gramma says, we are all Santa's helpers by being nice to just one person every day. See, if you take that man his plate you can be Santa, here take him his plate." Now that is a true story, that literally made my daughter-in-love and I get tears when we heard her. If people think for one second we don't influence what this world will become, think again! Teach them well and listen. Richard ~ The comment before mine is truly the most truthful statement made of you I have EVER heard. You are indeed a neverending well of stories, not only of those that cannot speak for themselves, but also your own from the wisdom you possess. I have such respect for you, as one of the most honest, smartest, and funniest men I have ever met in my entire life. So, before you hide for the holidays I wanted to give you my most sincere wishes for a peaceful season, and undying gratitude for the words of wisdom you so graciously share. |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
There are so many wonderful comments to this post, Richard. You are an original and talented man. I so enjoy the gift of your poetry.  |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Richard, the 'it' in my comment was not in reference to the person, but to the event, the circumstances. People are never 'it' to me, and it bothers me greatly that you seem to have interpreted it(the reply)that way. Hope I am wrong. My initial thought when I read this was of a homeless person seeking shelter, that might have become ill, or starved. But most of the homeless I know build their shelters in more accessible spots, not where they would fight with a heavy grate. I work alongside homeless and disenfranchised people nearly every day, some who've been left behind by family and 'friends,' some who struggle with the consequences of criminal behavior, of drug addiction, and alcoholism. (I work at a food bank and a local charity thrift store) I know the heartache of abandonment and rejection, the horrible feeling of being treated as a cast-off or untouchable. I have been without a home of my own more than once, relying upon the kindness of another, and am dangerously close to it happening again. Damn, I hope you didn't think I was making light of this person's death, or that of anyone else's, no matter how they die. No one is an 'it' to me. Kacy |
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RSWells Member Elite
since 2001-06-17
Posts 2533 |
Kacy, would do nothing of the kind. Was merely trying to explain the write and the news blurb that gave it birth. Anyone who reads you knows your heart is right. |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
 Richard, I'm just overly sensitive sometimes to the semantics. It's been a lifelong problem I thought I'd outgrown by now. Your heart beats 'right' and warm, and you're an intelligent writer. Thanks for being here, for reading my posts.Kacy |
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passing shadows Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577displaced |
there's nothing I can say compared to what's been said already here |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
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*Alli4000*
since 2004-03-21
Posts 3188The World of Poetry |
Yes...amazing write!  ~Alli~ Happy Holidays! |
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