In response to Tamara's suggestion of writing an elegy to an everyday object (ala Carol Ann Duffy's poem Valentine), today's challenge is to take an everyday item and make it significant.
lychee
she had always eaten lychees from a can
not knowing the true roughness of their
skin
till she stood in the misting rain
one held in her
hand
he told her to close her eyes
he peeled the fruit
he placed it between
her lips
and she bit into an
unknown
stone
Friday, 15 February 2008
Daily Challenge: Elegy to an Everyday Object
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Heartbeat
My life
is full of moments.
I no
sooner make the most
of one
moment than it's gone.
I save
them until I have
minutes
or hours or days
but each
day I have had
has died
and each day due me
will die.
In the midst of life
we are in
death
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
When I thought about an everyday object I'm afraid the first thing I thought about was something we all use everyday. It's not an object in the strictest sense but it is a noun so I let myself off there. The shape of the poem is meant to be suggestive of a heart monitor.
Hey, I was just thinking of that fruit, as it reminded me of someone I knew. Somewhat hard skin, but easily peelable, and a big, inedible core, but that soft layer of white pulp, so sweet and unforgettable!
I'm such a moron sometimes... I meant 'ode', not 'elegy'. Honestly. I should reread things before I post them.
Anyway, here is my ODE to an everyday object:
Ode to the Coat Hanger
King
Of the cupboard
Is the coat hanger,
That great isosceles triangle
Who
Forces clothes into
Neat rows
And dictates wardrobe hierarchy.
A knight -
Guardian of our most precious wear:
Christening gown,
Wedding dress
And cherished Levi low-cuts.
With metal claw,
He rules each one,
Captain Hook coat hanger.
When disaster strikes,
Our wiry hero
Bends to
Lend his tongue,
Slipping it through
The vehicle door
To rescue
Stranded keys.
Never do his shoulders sag.
Sturdily he bears
The weight
We lay.
Yet
Timid is our
Helpful friend,
And content to take his
Quiet place
On a dark and
Hidden
Rack.
Hi all,
Sorry for the absence and lack of comments! I've been chaotically busy these last few days, but hopefully it's nothing my impending trip to France can't cure :) Excellent poems as usual (and Molnar, I always appreciate agreement of how weird a fruit the lychee is!).
Tamara - you're right, it could be 'ode'! I think 'elegy' works nicely as well, though :)
Yes, elegy does work too, but the two are completely different - praise and lamentation. I went off and wrote my praise poem and came back and discovered the challenge I had set demanded lamentation!
Have fun in France, you lucky fish!
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