Sunday 26 August 2012

The Drawing Room


Big Room, 1948, by Andrew Wyeth

It was the Sunday room
‘cept Sunday never really came;
 one loveless day blurred into the next...

It was the drawing room,
guests entertained by perfect hosts…

Bottom nanny tapped
“Go in!  Go in,
my little precious one,
they’re waiting!” 
(Mummy what I want most of all
is to be your friend...)

…and I’d go in
hating the feigned affection,
affected for the sake of others,
held close to your chest
I’d feel your bitter cold
as you muttered
empty loving words in longing ears,
mixed messages of frigid mother love.

(Mummy what I want most is to be your friend…)

Life ends, nothing left of you
but dust and bitter memories.  
The room draws me in
and I see you there
hiding in the gloom and shadows
gazing at my photo on the mantel
and I finally understand,
how can those
who have not known love give love,
you reach out for me
from beyond the living
and I feel the warmth within your hand.

Anna :o]

With thanks to Tess at The Mag for this weeks prompt.

Thursday 23 August 2012

The Vendor



Big Issue seller, Oxford, 2006
"Please buy Beeeeg Ishooo"
he pleads
in his dirty postcard rasp
that grates,
irritates so much
that I want to slap him down. 
He grasps at unoffered hand
“Thank you, thank you lay-deee,
you buy Beeeeg Ishooo?”

Can’t he see how he makes me cringe?
Can he not understand that
“No thanks!” means No Thanks
and I know that he is homeless
and I should take a good look at me
and wonder what I am all about
as he shouts, begs, pleads
“Pleeeeze buy Beeeeg Ishooo,
pleeeeze lay-deee!”

But I can’t, I can’t.  
If only he would not beg
in that sleazy voice,
grab hold of me with greasy hands,
stare at me with that pleading face,
can he not understand
he makes my blood boil
as he knowingly invades my space,
takes away my choice of Yes or No
as he pressures for a Yes and only a Yes?

Sorry fella,
know your fighting homelessness
but from me it will always be “No thanks”
and that's just how it will always be.

Anna :o]

Today’s Meeting the Bar at dVerse~ Poets Pub is hosted by Victoria C. Slotto and the theme is ‘Writing Characters.’  Thanks Victoria!

The above is an observation of a street vendor and unfortunately it is true and perhaps it is as telling of me as it is of said street vendor?  I am ashamed of myself for having such an antagonistic opinion of this man which must come across (to him).  I really can’t help it for there is something about his manner that infuriates and I really can’t escape him as his pitch is the entrance to the bus station where I catch my bus…

For those of you outside of the UK selling The Big Issue is a means by which those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless can ease themselves back into the workforce by selling the magazine on a fixed pitch and earn money on each sale.

Please click onto The Big Issue Foundation to learn more of this charity whose mission is: “The Big Issue Foundation is a national charity which connects vendors with the vital support and solutions that enable them to rebuild their lives and journey away from homelessness.”  

Image: courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and the author is Kamyar Adi.  Thanks Kamyar!

(Please note that the vendor in the photograph is not the man that gets on my nerves!)

PS Don't know what happened above (to first two lines) - tried to respace but the blog seems to have a mind of its own...

Friday 17 August 2012

Strange Comfort

There is a sad strange comfort here
Drowning sorrows in sweet red wine.
We raise our glass and feign good cheer,
Sad little ladies of the vine.
Sad little stories intertwine
As secret longings we confess,
Our secret pain we do consign,
Drinking to drown our loneliness.

Anna :o]

Hah, an end to writers block, thanks to Gemma Wiseman at dVerse~Poets Pub!  Today is Form for All and the form is that of the Huitain.  Gemma writes:

There are those who claim that the huitain is French in origin, and others who are adamant it has Spanish origins. Either way, it was popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries and was often used for epigrams in the 18th century.  The form evolves around the number eight.

In France, the huitain was closely associated with the ballade which comprised three eight line stanzas, with the last line being a refrain. The ballade was set to music during the 13th-15th centuries.  But the huitain dismissed the refrain element and the music.

The original huitain is a single verse, eight line poem with eight syllables per line. The rhyme scheme is:
a
b
a
b
b
c
b
c


Cheers Gemma and also to the wise man who unknowingly was the inspiration for the words of this poem.

Image: courtesy of Wikimedia Creative Commons Red Wine Glass by André Karwath aka Aka