i wished it
and i looked around
for my inspiration
--some glistening thing
as yet unseen
by my dulling sight.
but i tell you
there is no beauty
where beauty seeks escape..
it is all packaged up and taped
inside corrugated cardboard boxes--
all sealed with the dated label of last inspection..
it all awaits its reincarnation--
a new life and the fresh air of a home, as yet unknown...
elPintor
Mon 6th Feb 2017 00:56
I just want to say to all of you that you give so much more than I ever would've expected in return. Though it isn't always heard, I truly feel that the reader's eye is to be respected as much as the writer's--even if exists only in silence.
..thanks Suki, Hazel, Ray, and Martin for speaking up and for your unique perspectives.
elP
it is interesting both reading this beautiful piece of poetry and all the other comments around it what a multi faceted and coloured diamond poetry can be and this piece is no exception. looked at from different angles according to what is seen and expected to be found by the reader.
Nice one elp. love it
Forgive me all for adding a little to these great comments and the depths of analysis they offer. I just wanted to say that poetry seems to express the chance to romanticize everyday objects , but also attempts to convey immaterial things(like beauty and love etc) so that the two extremes can come together ; little wonder there is so much scope for individual reactions.
(Back in my box now).
Ray
When reading this, I had an image of you at a potters wheel, pulling a delicate pot of words out of thin air.
there is no beauty
where beauty seeks escape..
David, you're not wrong.
I read this as partly being about the nature of memory, and how we label experiences - and perhaps trap and suffocate them by holding on and replaying them; the memory of a memory; suffocating the elusive beauty of it..
elPintor
Sun 5th Feb 2017 00:59
Thanks to all of you for your comments..it really does please me to be able to hit a chord with you all.
Colin, the way I see it, you could never be wrong. Truthfully, how I look at something I've written might change from one moment to the next. That, too, is most likely pretty common to others here, as well. And, you're definitely right about the opportunity we have here to get a little deeper--something I feel pretty happy to take advantage of.
Thanks for the link, David. "Poetry is indispensable — if I only knew what for," he says..clever fellow. On beauty, I get the idea that it makes itself pretty unremarkable where it doesn't want to be found out--a bit like the old idea of never revealing everything that you know. I can't say that I understand that directive enough to write a thesis on it or anything, but I believe it to be true. Let me know if you hit a glitch in the system.
Hey, Paul. Like I was saying to Colin, I like to hear other's interpretations. Really, I appreciate the fact that it gives something of a view from the reader's eyes. Anyhow, thanks for asking...I'll try. Maybe it is much like storing away parts of yourself that don't have a place in your habitat. And, knowing that you're forced to do as much makes your circumstances merely transitional. I can't go without saying that there is a sort of "deadening of the nerves" when they go without stimulation and expression--that's a somewhat fearful risk incurred by making trade-offs for the "real world". I hope that makes sense.
Thanks so much, Randall. I've never thought of my writing being featured in a book of poems..that's really quite a boost!
And you, Ray. I always like to hear your view. I think just about anything can become ordinary and fade into the background with time. It's really an awful thought that human inconstancy can make us so potentially blind. But, I believe that most of us learn to discern our needs from our wants with age, the superficial from the profound, and thereby gain a greater understanding and appreciation of true beauty.
Thanks again!
elP
A tricky one elP and worthy of consideration as are all your poems. I feel this as indicative of the fleeting nature of beauty as seen by the beholder, and how material things of beauty may be an illusion , and the appreciation of beauty also can be one if the viewer does not respond to a repetition of it, therefore becoming stale.
My best shot!
Ray
I don't want to spoil my impression of this poem by reading the other comments yet, because this is just a fantastic piece, in my opinion. This is how I remember poetry being. The feel of the imagery, the metaphors. I love the whole expression of this poem. I feel like I just opened my first book of poetry again, and found a true gem! Bravo!! Sincerely, Bravo!!
I am so intrigued by this elP. I have read it over and over this morning and, like Colin, wonder whether any attempt I make to explain my interpretation of your poem may not elicit the layers of meaning here. But that, of course, is the beauty of poetry.
My mind is so intrigued that I'd love it if you would be prepared to share with us a little more about this wonderfully imaginative poem.
Many thanks for posting,
Paul
<Deleted User> (13762)
Sat 4th Feb 2017 09:00
As much as I love your writing elP I am always a little unsure how to respond because I know whatever I say might not fully correspond to all the layers of thought and referencing that goes into your poems. That probably goes for a lot of poetry posted on here. We often don't get the chance to fully discuss and digest the complete process of bringing that piece into existence. I think that's also an issue I have with spoken word events - stand up, read, sit down, repeat. One of the things about WoL that I love is finding out about those personal processes.
I was reading an article yesterday in which a woman spent a week at home ordering everything she needed from online retailers - food, repairers, exercise instructors - everything came to her, boxed and packaged or in the form of a person providing a service. At first it seemed great, she got things fixed - broken phone screen - without having to take it to a store - it was collected and returned. But she soon realised that she was drowning in a sea of packaging and yearned for the random company of strangers in shops and elsewhere. We seem forever caught between the reality of digital consumerism and some rose tinted vision of bygone days when everything was 'better'.
Thanks for posting another excellent piece. Colin.
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Stu Buck
Fri 10th Feb 2017 09:54
very thought provoking piece which i have missed by quite some time i see. well, having read the comments it seems a lot of people have differing views on it, but all can see its quality shining through.