Tuesday 14 January 2014

POETRY JAM - REFRIGERATE

“The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye.” - Jimi Hendrix
 

Poetry Jam this week is influenced by the cold weather that has paralysed Northern America over the past few days. "The challenge this week, is the word refrigerate and/or refrigerators. How can you use the word refrigerate loosely in a poem?"
Here is my poem:
 

Les Adieux
 

Fusing cascades of raindrops
Make of the window a distorting lens,
And I behind it look
At fractured, ever-changing images
Refracted, strangely broken and re-melded
As if through weeping eyes beheld.
 

The sombre, sober colours
Of winter’s limited palétte
Run, mix and separate again
Through my prismatic window.
Each hue with purest liquid mixed
Becomes translucent,
Each raindrop a note of colour in a chromatic fantasy.
 

Smelling of citrus tang
In wan, short, wintry afternoon,
The sun, tart, like an unripe orange
Appears, shines dully on wet cobblestones
And every lemon, yellow-green is its reflection
Shattered as it were
By every raindrop clinging to the window glass.
 

The ailing sun swathed
In sheets of leaf-green clouds
Expires, leaving a mauve remembrance
Heir to the cold starry realm of night.
Frigid, relentless, old mistress of silence,
Moon Lady rises, killing
Even the memory of sun with a refrigerated kiss.
 

Shining stabs of light
The stars rend the frozen atmosphere
And penetrate the window pane,
Burning their starlight tracks on my transfixed gaze.
Winter comes early this year
And Spring long gone and well away –
Unlike her, nevermore will you return.

16 comments:

  1. "The stars rend the frozen atmosphere
    And penetrate the window pane,"

    GOOD WRITE

    have a nice Wednesday

    much love...

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  2. I like how you included what's in your refrigerator, and the reference to expiration dates. Maybe the next sunrise will melt that "refrigerated kiss".

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  3. brrr...supposed to get really cold here tonight and snow as well...i really like the stanza where you focus on the fruit...it breaks it up nicely and indirectly addresses the issue of the piece....ah but spring will come eventually

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  4. Winter does indeed have a limited palette, compared to that of summer. I like

    " Moon Lady rises, killing
    Even the memory of sun with a refrigerated kiss" which strikes me as wonderful imagery.
    "

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  5. Such great imagery, I love where you went with this.

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  6. "Fusing cascades of raindrops / Make of the window a distorting lens," - I enjoyed looking at the world through your window Nicholas!

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  7. “The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye.” - Jimi Hendrix SO true...I love your poetry

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  8. Shining stabs of light - i can feel the emotion, touch the hope, this works.

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  9. This is so poignant... The unfortunate realization that the parting of the lovers is final, and unlike Spring the lover will not return is quite powerful and tragic.

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  10. Wonderful concrete images in this--particularly like what is seen through the rain-covered window. And then you add a surprise at the end to make me go back and read it over again!

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  11. Beautiful colors and imagery, Nicholas.

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  12. I love the drab winter palette being brightened by the prismatic window and the raindrop....lovely.

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  13. Enjoyed the progression of your poem ... stanza number five my favorite!

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  14. so very visual! Love the third verse- so tangy!

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  15. You've really caught the misery of winter in your words. Great writing.

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  16. Holy cow Nick, fabulous writing! So many beautiful lines, I can't even pick one out. I've always been inspired by the raindrop trails, you captured everything perfectly :-)

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