I wake up late at night
to wet the weeds
and pull the flowers.
I sweat up a snowstorm
and get starshade in my eyes.
I scatter salt and stone
and unspin
the spider's hours.
Tower buried bones
once I've chewed the dirt aside.
And, when the sparrow's song
rumors dawn,
I sand my hands -
stretch and yawn
and put myself away.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
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About Me
- Maude Lynn
- Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. ---Flannery O'Connor
20 comments:
This has the startling backwards logic of dreams, reversals of normalcy that somehow seem more true than reality--lovely alliteration with the hissing 's's, and the last line refutes and spites the tidy mind even as it cleans itself up. Really liked this one, MZ.
I like the wet the weeds and pull the flowers/ unspin the spider's hours part. A shadow self that only comes out at night, doing the reverse of what the daylight self would likely do.
i work better at night....unspinning the spider...ha...that is a pretty cool line...too much light come the sun....
This is beautiful, and it makes me almost cry. Especially the idea of "putting yourself away" at the end. As if, at night, you do what you can't do when everyone's looking. During daylight hours, you have to fold yourself up and not exist. The "off hours" are the hours you're off-duty, the hours during which you can truly be yourself. A night creature. Maybe even an animal. Wetting the weeds makes me picturing you peeing on them, not watering them. Something tells me when you say you're sweating up a snowstorm, you're being literal---like your internal heat pouring out is so hot that it makes the heavens respond with a coldness intense enough to cool you down. Reading about you towering bones after chewing up the dirt makes me picture you as a witch, burying the evidence of your kills.
"And, when the sparrow's song
rumors dawn" ... My favorite.
You are definitely up to no good when you're truly "awake." :)
You shake me up, emotions arise that I've done my best to kill you are incredible and I love feeling again and I love everything every word you write shakes me up smartens me up until I shut down again because I have to breathe
What fun! And while it may "dawn" on you that this is an odd time to frolic (and odd frolic too), what a night! Elemental, like wind and rain, like a toy story.
A sweet, melodic, beautiful hymn to night-time. I'm a voracious reader and found a way to read at night. I get books on CD from the library and wake up in the middle of the night and listen to them for hours. So many books, so little time...
Thank you for sharing this. xo
Waking up late at night definitely brings all kinds of thoughts and experiences. And the unreal becomes real.
The idea of putting oneself away is incredible...
Wow.
This is beautiful.
Loved reading this! I felt like I was moving backwards, to unspin like the spider!
Love it Mama Z.
Wonderful. Thank you.
Mama Zen, great minds think alike. I wrote a similar poem of a weed-pulling woman who did it under cover of darkness.
"the spider's hours" - what fabulous imagery!
I specially like the second verse ~ Good one MZ ~
Great write. When we're ready, we do it best.
Hey MZ - there is a wonderful simplicity in your lines - maybe the lack of adjectives--that makes the strangeness more remarkable - Also the lack of explanation of the disjuncture - this works very well - and many beautiful and unusual words - starshade - sparrows rumoring dawn - the interior rhymes carry one along also. Just lovely. k.
and unspin
the spider's hours.
Every line adds to the magic. Gorgeous.
I've got this gardening thing all backwards
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