Wednesday 14 September 2016

POETS UNITED - APPRECIATION

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” - Dalai Lama

For this week’s mid-week motif, Poets United has as its theme the word “appreciation”. The word comes form the Latin and the meaning inherent in it is “to set a price for something, to appraise”. We understand it nowadays to mean “recognition and enjoyment of the qualities of someone or something”. It can also stand for “gratitude”, or “a formal written appraisal of someone’s work” or the “full understanding of a situation”.  My poem below:

The Finer Things in Life

Ruby red, clear liquid,
Fine wine fills the crystal goblet:
Full-bodied, with rich aromas,
Sunshine captured in glass
To be appreciated on this winter’s day.

Heavenly strains
Of a string quartet:
Mozart’s music divine,
The players inspired and talented,
Appreciated by sensitive ears.

Fine bone china, gold-trimmed
A most suitable receptacle for:
Duck confit, tender asparagus,
Exquisite sauce and fine spices
To be appreciated by even jaded palates.

Soft silks and sparkling gems,
Superb cut, fine sewing:
Dressed to the nines,
With rich accessories
Appreciated by connoisseurs.

Outside the restaurant,
Beneath the Michelin stars:
A homeless woman.
The people inside fail to appreciate
The magnitude of her plight,
And see her abjection
As self-inflicted…

11 comments:

  1. only if the humans could spell the word correctly the world would be a paradise...nicely put Nick...

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  2. Humans are the most inhumane of creatures and cannot understand the injustice of greed which they think is taste! What a great poem this is.

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  3. "Beneath the Michelin stars"! You got it; I got it. I revelled in detailed luxery before you took me outside the closed door.

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  4. luv the finery juxtaposed against the conceit of 'inhuma-ness'; happy Wednesday Nicholas

    much love...

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  5. Oh, the contrast of sumptuous fine dining and the hungry homeless woman outside. So true that many who have not known such hardship seem to feel homelessness is due to some lack in the person, rather than the system. You wove a wonderful contrast, that makes us remember her. Well done, Nicholas.

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  6. Oh such fine images here in your verse :D especially 'Duck confit, tender asparagus, exquisite sauce and fine spices, to be appreciated by even jaded palates' sounds absolutely delicious!! ❤


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  7. Self inflicted until it becomes 'us' - have you seen the Fisher King? This made me think of the DJ who lost everything and outside the restaurant he once dined in banging on the glass saying 'we're looking through the fucking window'

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  8. Quite frankly I would prefer the company of the homeless women outside to the company inside. There is no meal that can compensate for those kind of people.Love the"michelin stars" :)

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  9. fail to appreciate
    The magnitude of her plight,
    And see her abjection
    As self-inflicted…

    She may have to suffer alone sometimes through no fault of hers. Some souls may be born unlucky and others unfortunately fail to appreciate their misfortune!

    Hank

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  10. You have shown such strong contrasts in this poem, Nick. Sometimes those people who eat in Michelin restaurants need to take at the sidewalks enroute. I don't know why the old story "The Match Girl" comes to mind. Not exactly sure why. So sad that those Michelin eaters are so willing to blame, but not to help!

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