Words: a few random thoughts.

[Benjamin]

A scent, a tune, a taste, may instantly

 

flash-back memories. But words provide

 

a curious frisson; become the pediment

 

astride an edifice of boundless imagination...

 

Their livery may bring an ominous garb

 

of sinister hat and political cape;

 

or dance like elusive dots of phosphorescence

 

in the surf of a strange coast.

 

Be loosed in blinding spindrift

 

across white-cap waves,

 

to rise and fall in an ocean's swell of literacy.

 

Have peasants scraping hides in a tannery,

 

or waifs picking oakum in the workhouse.

 

Words: lift man up to god-like heights

 

of passion and endurance,

 

express a unique capacity for love and hate.

 

Free Turner seascapes of eternal light,

 

purporting that “the sun is God”;

 

or Achilles' terrible shield

 

of portentous human horrors.

 

So pity or envy the poet his diverse material:

 

his heroic tales, his humus, detritus

 

and rustling parchments of autumn leaves.

 

For with one foot tied to classic text,

 

and the other drawn by ever shifting trends

 

of modern speech; his symbiotic offerings

 

are stretched somewhere between the metaphors.

 

Words my friend:

 

A golden liquid, not to be quaffed like beer;

 

but sipped and savoured like fine wine.

Edited January 7, 2011 by Benjamin

[tonyv]

You are a wordsmith, Benjamin. But this one is more than just "a few random thoughts." It rises to the level of fine art. Thank you.

 

Tony

[Benjamin]

Thanks Tony. I do tend to 'go on a bit'. A close friend asked me if I purchased words by the dozen; to which I replied, "Yes! dozens of years." :icon_sunny: Benjamin.

[badger11]

You obviously take pleasure in words B. : oakum/phosphorescence/quaffed...and many more to create a dazzling threading of poetry lines.

 

Meaningful, but also a lot of fun.

 

badge

[goldenlangur]

Free Turner seascapes of eternal light,

 

Love the reference to Turner's work. You've absolutely caught its essence in the detail eternal light,

 

 

Most eloquently put :D :

 

but sipped and savoured like fine wine.

 

 

Your poem offers much to savour.

 

 

Thank you.

[dr_con]

Agree with all the above- The sheer delight in language really raises this beyond an ordinary ramble, into a stellar achievement...

 

Enjoyed!

 

DC&J

[Benjamin]

Badger. Thank you. I am fortunate to have the privilege of reading and writing for sheer pleasure these days.

goldenlangur. Glad you liked the Turner ref: it's true a picture paints a thousand words. I believe also that a few words can unlock boundless imagination. Thank you for reading and commenting.

DC&J Thank you for reading. Your comments are very much appreciated.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Benjamin