Tells

The older you grow

The more words begin to sound the same as the feeling they invoke

Shallow

Broken

Peeling

And I wonder if that is because we know their meaning with such intensity

Because it has been felt

At depth

Within

Tip toed across tender skin

That they conjure instantly

Holograms to dance

upon the tongue

Or because haiku

Is the only true

One

love

The art of summary is clearly superior

Longer stanzas feel vacuous

Instead burn clarity, focus

Condensing hot thoughts to steam

Breathe it in

And keep flowing

Is this not the only use for poetry

Except

Perhaps

To seduce memory into thinking

It was other than it was

A momentary imagined dross

Which in just the right beam of sunlight

Delivered at just the right time

Rendered the innocuous glance

Golden

*A photo of a pub in Winton – through the doors at 6am.

Pubs are funny like that – full of life in the night, but at 6am a sort of hollowness is all that remains

10 thoughts on “Tells

  1. “Is this not the only use for poetry

    Except

    Perhaps

    To seduce memory into thinking

    It was other than it was”

    Beautifully written, and so wistful, Kate. I prefer to think the opposite is true, but then maybe that’s just me doing what the words forewarn me about.

    • Thanks for reading Mitch, I think poetry is many things and endlessly mutable. I enjoy it for the lyrical insights it provides and a different and deeper way of viewing the world at times. Sometimes – most times the words just write themselves and I follow along.

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