Jigsaw

by Laura Taylor

Thursday 6th November 2014 11:07 am (first posted Wednesday 5th November 2014 9:52 am)

stealing pieces of experience

to place them just outside of your own

y our

semiotic symptom

of a need to reproduce;

connote two-tone heartbreak

tragedy ripped

from a 2D playground

second-hand realities

suck on ragged fragments

forcing them to f

every corner of the composite

clean

dirty littered grief-strewn jackdawed glory

no full balloon floats

under water

any more

than an empty swing

is saddled with distress.

Photo courtesy of Richard Nixon of Rich Pictures

https://www.facebook.com/richpicturesphotography

Comments

Laura Taylor

Thu 13th Nov 2014 11:13

Many thanks to you Cynthia :) And pish you don't 'do imagination'!! Behave!

Your poem The Aperitif is one of the best of the type that I've read Cynth. Do it!

Cynthia Buell Thomas

Wed 12th Nov 2014 21:05

So 'ekphrastic' means 'to interpret a picture of some sort, in poetry. I've been looking for that word for ages. Found it once and lost it again. There used to be many such poems on WOL. Ann Foxglove excelled in them. I did 'The Aperitif' myself.

I am motivated to try something similar again. Laura, this poem of yours is very original, as always. The ending is superb. I don't do 'imagination' all that well, looking out for stories of other people. I guess I have enough trials of my own.

Laura Taylor

Mon 10th Nov 2014 10:46

Aye, give it a go Steve! It's really interesting how writing about another piece of art can spur ideas in strange ways.

Many thanks for your comments, and taking the time to read it properly :) Appreciate that.

Steve Smith

Fri 7th Nov 2014 12:48

I am impressed with the form and images.Had to read it several times and think.I am put in mind of the interest and attempts to explain the disappearance of the child Madeleine McCann.I have opinions about that which your last lines also suggest."Dirty littered grief-strewn jackdawed glory" is a fantastic line.I applaud your determination to test your talent in new forms.
So should I.
Steve Smith

Laura Taylor

Thu 6th Nov 2014 16:14

Ah yeh, knew there was a fancypants name for it - couldn't remember! :D

Aye I will do. The plan is to at some point make an exhibition (of ourselves) of the photos and the collected poems. Ian Whiteley and John Togher have been doing this too - they're all under the tag of 'richpix' on here, apart from my one 'Kaleidoscope' cos I got that published recently.

If you fancy having a go, and are on facefuck, I can point you to his site (it's Rich Pictures) - makes for stuff you wouldn't normally write, I find.

Laura Taylor

Thu 6th Nov 2014 11:07

Thanks for taking time to read and comment Mr Black. It's not exactly a nice easy-going poem ;D

Aye - am writing poems based on photos taken by a mate and they are bringing out lots of ideas about representation, reproduction, signifiers etc, how we make meaning. When I looked at this photo, it made me think 'lost/stolen/dead child' - it looks 'sad/distressed'. And then I thought, well, it's just an empty swing really. I'm putting my own meaning on it. How dare I even think about entering a space I know nothing about, and which terrifies me. And other people do this too. Then we show them to each other, for the glory.

Anyway, shut up Laura.

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Jigsaw

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