Tuesday 17 January 2012

A DROWNING


“Drink does not drown care, but waters it, and makes it grow faster.” - Benjamin Franklin

Magpie Tales has selected an image from the new installation in The Museum of Underwater Modern Art, Mexico by Jason de Caires Taylor. These striking installations explore the relationships between art, science and environment and while the photographs are amazing, it must be quite an experience to be able to see these sculptures in situ.
The given image prompted this response:

Drowning in the Bottom of a Glass

I’ll drink tonight,
And for an hour I’ll forget,
Sink into oblivion in an hour.
No more will moon shine
Piercingly into my empty room;
The garden scents, the flowers
For an hour I’ll forget...

I’ll drink alone tonight,
And for an hour my hand not empty,
Will be stroking the smoothness of my glass;
An hour of forgetfulness,
As songs and moonlit gardens
Sink, drown, all perish in my glass;
I will not care.

Swimming in Lethe’s cup
For only an hour’s indifference,
Sinking, falling, drowning,
In the sparkling liquid,
So I’ll not remember
How sunshine, songs and forest walks
Were made for two.

The cool glass,
Caresses, words unsaid yet understood,
Sharing a new world, blue skies,
The touch of your hand,
All lie forgotten for an hour,
All dead, drowned, dissolved
In the bottom of an empty glass...

11 comments:

  1. And I'm sure there are many such empty glasses in this world. An extremely emotive Magpie...

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  2. Love this, esp:

    "No more will moon shine
    Piercingly into my empty room."

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  3. you just broke my heart...
    isn`t it amazing the effect words have on us
    ( and photos for that matter)

    greetings from the North dear Nicholas
    απ την ελληνίδα φίλη σου : )

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  4. Oh, those liquid hours........Nicely penned.

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  5. My gosh, this is so wonderful. Bravo.

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  6. really well done...i think i know a few that looked for much itnthe bottom of the glass...i might have as well at one point....

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  7. Nicholas, one of my favorite Magpies this week ... I've lost several friends who sought too much in the bottom of a glass ... so sad.

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  8. You definitely caught that feeling. And I lost a father and an ex-husband because they could not let go of the bottom of the glass.

    Very nicely written.

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  9. Such a beautiful and sad poem, Nicholas. Captures the mood of the image well and conveys the desperation of parting...

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  10. Gorgeous Magpie! I especially love the third stanza. It's achingly beautiful.

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