JoelJosol Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 A friend's ear is a kitchen sink where I puke, throwing up all the bitterness and indigestible vocabulary others made me eat. It is also a toilet bowl I defecate on, discharging all my anger-filled thoughts. His nose does not flinch from its stench. When I am done purging, he flushes them out the public sewer system, wiping away clean all stains from sink and bowl. Quote "Words are not things, and yet they are not non-things either." - Ann Lauterbach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenlangur Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Purging Hello JoelJoso, Such vividly palpable details of emotions in this poem and you've used these images to give an original and unusual slant to friendship. What comes across is the enduring strength of the "friend" who absorbs all the bitterness, fears, doubts of the poet without judgment - the "kitchen sink" parallel works very well here - available, accommodating and patient. Then again the "toilet bowl" detail again evokes that calm, non-judgmental, passive acceptance of the poet's "stench" of thoughts and emotions. The exorcising role of the friend in both images is very well drawn out. The unflinching language is effective in conveying the depth of feeling, and the nobility of the friend - one in a million! goldenlangur Quote goldenlangur Even a single enemy is too many and a thousand friends too few - Bhutanese saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleksandra Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Joel I like this piece. It is so interesting written. I like this way of writing and seems hard for me with English as second language, to play with those kinds of expressions. Thank you for sharing Aleksandra Quote The poet is a liar who always speaks the truth - Jean Cocteau History of Macedonia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Joel, You certainly don't hold back. It is not a pretty poem but definitely a keeper. Well done. ~~Tink Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyv Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I like how you use the more powerful poetic device, the metaphor, in lieu of simile in this poem. A raw, powerful write. He is a friend indeed! Tony Quote Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelJosol Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 Thank you, GL, Alek, Tink, and Tony. I asked my officemates to read it, they were initially repulsed because of the diction. I'm glad you saw through it. Quote "Words are not things, and yet they are not non-things either." - Ann Lauterbach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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