After the nonsense of the last 3-4 days (for which see yesterday's post) I needed an area of sanity and peacce to get writing again, so naturally, I went to look at Magpie Tales' brief for this week:-
And when the tools of war are hung upon the wall,
what tools have they become? Do they look down,
broadsword and battleaxe, lance, shield and dirk,
on scenes of verbal jousting round a table set
with fare from bygone days? Or are they tools
for lives vicarious, of derring-do's vainglory?
Perhaps they're looking down, embarrassed and ashamed
of all the blood that once dripped from their blades or dried
in abstract characters on wood or leathern shield.
They teach their lessons and they sing their songs,
they murmur prayers or point towards their visions
and demand to know of us: where do we stand? Are
we romantic glorifiers? historical
deniers? Or those who think they learn by their mistakes?
and then this happened:-
Standing where I am,
and looking from the bedroom window
down into a busy road,
busy with its busy people going home,
I cannot see it all;
the trees and other vehicles
protect it, snuggling in its lair
from outside view.
Inflating and deflating like a toad -
that much I see.
A boat of some kind,
with a roof-rack where its sails should be.
A fish towards the bows.
Square-eyed, round-jawed,
but somehow streamlined, like a shark.
Wide, low and blue, an anchor for a tusk,
and to the rear, with upturned tail -
a scorpion, I fear.
A man, my neighbour,
with power hose, washes it,
the late sun sparkling off the jet.
St George, I reason,
laser-armed
does battle with
the half-organic, half bionic
androgenous, steel
monster.
(We never witnessed scenes like this
before the house price slump.)
I shall in future treat
my neighbour with respect.
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34 comments:
Beautiful work.
Excellent poems.
One of our neighbours has bought a boat -- a piddly ten-footer they've named 'Dignity'. I was tempted to graffitti it with an 'In'
Two good poems to fire from your cannon!
Good writing...
Very clever, Dave. Some kind of monster boat, indeed.
I loved your thought about the weapons. Strange how we romanticize death weapons.
Liked the first, but loved, loved, loved the second! Great moment mythologised and deadpan humour.
I sincerely hope we learn by our mistakes...
"Perhaps they're looking down, embarrassed and ashamed
of all the blood that once dripped from their blades or dried
in abstract characters on wood or leathern shield."
Perfect! I like both- especially the second one!
The moral seems to be that you should never look down on your neighbour from an upstairs window as you never know what you might see.
apt message..
mindful and thoughtful writing..
You have a magical way of posing the most intriguing questions ... then turning around and telling us stories.
Excellent images, Dave, evocative and strong.
A stunningly thought-inducing write (thankfully not affected by the house price slump!)
I try not to notice a lot of what's happening. :) You've done a terrific job of capturing it with a wryness that works!
Thanks sailor
Leatherdykeuk
Good thinking. What stopped you?
Very good responses to this weeks prompt!
Isabel
A case of touch the blue paper and retire, eh?
Berowne
Thanks. Good to have you visiting.
Tess
Oddly, I still have no idea what it was. It was much hidden by trees and other vehicles.
Thingy
Very strange, but we surely do.
Titus
Thanks for that most helpful and encouraging response. Much appreciated.
Jinksy
Well, we try, but it seems to me we merely make the opposite mistake and don't do what we did last time when perhaps we ought.
Kathe
Hi, Good to have you with us. Many thanks for the feedback. It really is useful.
Weaver
Yes, I can take that from the experience. Mayube we shouldn't look down upon our neighbour, full stop!
Thanks a lot Jingle. Much appreciated.
Helen.
I hadn't thought of it like that, but,yes, I can see I do do that. Thanks for the adjectives, though.
Conda
Many thanks for the support. Good to have your comments.
Lena
A warm welcome to you. Thanks for visiting and for commenting. True, so far not affected by the house price slump!
Tumblewords
Very wise of you. Thanks for the compliment.
Jane
Thanks for saying so.
In a word . . excellent.
So very different, and both so good!
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