As a kid
I neutered things
would doctor wasps
or draw the stings
of scorpions.
I'm talking
metaphor of course.
Not living things -
the livingest
were dreams
nightmares most of all.
I had such beasts
the beasts had beasts
that followed me
out of the night
into the living day.
I neutered them
in self-defence --
once I'd discovered
how the human mind
has tools to tackle them
by docking vital parts
In my mind's eye
dissecting images
I'd cut and paste
give twigs for claws
replace
hard spines and scales
with Grandma's flannel vests.
Against
the nightmare that returned
night after night
I'd work the image
as I fell asleep.
This picture
might be one of mine
a clock face of
eleven noughts
through which dark spirits poured
and weird eleven
or truncated twelve
pared to that single hour.
The clock
deprived of clockness
the wayward geni
safely bottled for
my peace of mind
which had been free
to run amok.
Still waiting to be corked.
keeping healthy bones and heart --
the up-side of moles
16 comments:
Dave, That may be among my favorites of yours I've read. "through which dark spirits poured." Marvelous, sir.
thank goodness it was only in your mind's eye, you had me worried there *grin*
what a way to fight the nightmares! Great post and haiku!
I love the notion of neutering one's fears. Nice piece, Dave.
ha, I love the Haiku,
and shiver at the Magpie Tale nightmare...
Di
The creative worlds that we create, fun-filled hours, yet sometimes the darkness calls to other things when our imaginations run wild.
Talk about creative coping mechanisms .. no nightmares allowed in this boy's sleep.
Very dark, yet brimming with
the sweetness, the naivete of
youth, the runaway imagination
of the tapped into inner child;
good stuff, sir. I like the lines,
/give twigs for claws/ and the
notion of /the clock deprived
of clockness/ which probably
is the solution for so many of
the stresses and troubles that
we are mired in daily, and it
puts me in mind of the
metaphysical perception that
we manufacture ersatz control
by giving Time power, for it
is powerless when juxtaposed'
to the tower of Now.
I found some paintings by
John Alexander that seem
to illustrate your words
admirably. Great read,
and good mag.
Great "the clock deprived of clockness", it reminds me of a clock without arms in a tremendous famous Igmar Bergman's film.
Such a boy! Neutering can be beneficial as you have found out...Love this boyness poem very much- Don't quite know how the prompt prompted you but there you go- there's no explaining genius, is there.
You have woven a piece which illuminates the fears and resiliency of youth.
Excellent piece, Dave - captures the essence of fear wonderfully.
Thank goodness this very dark and disturbing nightmare poem is only in your minds eye and not reality. I hope it's not in reality for you.
David
Thanks for that. I, too, feel quite kindly towards it at the moment, but am too close to be sure.
Shadow
Just my wee joke.
kathew
A warm welcome to you and many thanks. (It worked better then than it does now - something to do with waning concentration, perhaps.)
willow
Thanks, much appreciated.
Dianne
Both comments valued.
Reflections
That's very true, whatever we act out, it's there in the wings. Really good to hear from you. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Helen
Absolutely not, once I learnt the trick... well, except the night I fell out of bed, but that's another story!
Glenn Buttkus
Hi and a very warm welcome to you. I am grateful for the comment and the time you took to leave it. I like thhe idea that we give Time power and thereby manufacture ersatz control. I might just play around with it for a bit, see where it leads.
Tommaso
Great comparison. After I had written it I thought of Salvador Dali's timepieces, but not that one. Thanks for reminding me.
Linda Sue
Much gratitude for that. The prompt was simple, really: the XI reminded me of the clock - the curved line beneath it suggesting that it was cut from a clock face and the piece of pottery reminded me of the geni that escaped. Very literal, actually, not muc of the genius involved.
Paul C
Thanks. That means a lot.
Rachel
I wonder how childhood fears relate to adult ones - your comment has set me off on a new tack, I think. Most grateful.
Windsmoke
It isn't now. Than ks for the hope.
Typical curious child - experimenting.
Strummed words
Nothing I can say to that except thanks!
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