This one in gratitude for Liz, who loves the image of the stones. I fly with the angels some of the time, command the power. Walk upright in the land, a prince among men. Other days I'm the toad.
Doing The Mending
This is what life is,
this collection of small stones,
this river running,
this heart speaking truth
in stories and then in need
resuming the wash,
the dishes, cleaning
after dogs, cats, kids and more,
mending, always that,
the mending.
February 12, 2009 9:19 AM
Contraction
1 week ago
Somehow doing the mending makes me laugh. Metaphorically, yes! I do, I do do the mending. But literally! Ugh. I wait 'til it's a big old pile about to topple over and then I discard what we've all outgrown. Inevitably, everything~
ReplyDeletethe binding sheet
ReplyDeletethe twist of time
the water's worth
compared to mine
thanks for this poem Christopher... liked it a lot... and thanks too for letting me put a link to your site on my new blog... i wrote a short review of your blog in a post there too... let me know what you think...
I love the commonplace images that take on greater significance - just as most of our lives, so ordinary, but meaningful to us. Good work, as always, Christopher. Poet of the People.
ReplyDeleteErin, I know.
ReplyDeleteJon, it's always interesting to see what others think. I'm fine with the blurb on my site.
Christopher Applepoem, poet of the people. Hmmm.
Love this, Christopher. I thought of Jack Kornfield's wonderful book, "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry" when I read your poem.
ReplyDeleteDon't laugh too hard, but the only thing I mend is my Victoria's Secret cotton underwear. At $5 a pair, they last for years, but still....as my husband says, I can squeeze a dollar until it cries for mercy. Hugs & Blessings!!!
Well, Marion, not too hard
ReplyDelete*Snort*
"If I ever get my hands on a dollar again,
I'm gonna hug it, squeeze it til the eagle grins..."
That comes from a depression era song I know how to sing and play.
Oh by the way, Marion, 5 bucks is not a lot for underwear.
ReplyDeleteWashing and mending, it's a way of life for most of us. Washing away the anger and disappointment and mending and healing as much as we are able.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote my life?
ReplyDeleteArgh
I love this one....
xx
Yes indeed, ain't we got fun.
ReplyDeleteTechno, a way of life.
Michelle, ma belle.
{{{Christopher}}}
ReplyDeleteyou are always a prince...and if not...I do so love toads. Beautiful poem (as always) and yes the collection of stones...and the mending.
I am so grateful to you...
{{{Liz}}}
ReplyDeleteThis collection of small stones. Oh, how beautiful. That's what it amounts to, doesn't it? It's a wonderful poem to think about as I try to mend my words and place them in piles tonight.
ReplyDeleteI discovered your website trough jon, and I am pretty glad about it.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on this great poem, I dig it a lot. It is the kind of thing I would like to write if I ever write some poetry. Mix dadaism, buddhism, reality, and everydaythings. And of course there is the mending, mending all of it.
M
Julie, thanks for coming by. I have a hard time thinking you have to mend your words.
ReplyDeleteMariana, what a nice surprise for me when I opened my blog this morning to find my first South American comment. I saw NLP listed on your website. I assume it to mean neurolinguistic programming, something I studied in the late 70s.
No I know the letters are confusing, but they stand for natural linguistic programing, which is a field that s a mix between computational methods and linguistics, here is an introduction to it:http://singyourownlullaby.blogspot.com/2009/03/introduction-to-natural-language.html
ReplyDeleteHope you like it
i found this darning egg.... good for mending...
ReplyDeleteGhost, I suppose it is. It looks like it is on offer too, so invitingly held toward the camera. Yet the journey to Washington County in NY seems excessive.
ReplyDeleteyou're a good egg :)
ReplyDeleteI know which came first...
ReplyDelete