Friday, January 28, 2011

Big Tent Poetry: 1-28-11


I see you, boss
waiting at the dock;
your steadfast gaze
I know not where it lands.
I will follow you, boss
through this derelict ship
as we brave the winter cold.
Up and down we will climb
through the ship arrested-
hating what we love,
loving what we hate;
it’s in our blood, boss,
to devote our lives to sea.
Hunger will soon lead us
to the dusty galley
where we witness life once lived,
long forgotten memorabilia-
cards, magazines, books, CDs.
A wheel of white European cheese
hardened and moldy
sits on a table half-eaten,
whiffs of outdated ham and bologna
overcome our olfactory nerves
eating now a lost dream.
I see you, boss,
turn the other way;
your steadfast gaze landing
on a precision German sextant;
someone’s treasure now evidence.
I watch you closely, boss,
waiting to follow your lead
but you walk on by nonplused
on this cold wintery day
and I follow you
inch by inch,
boss.


This week’s prompt over at Big Tent Poetry was to write a poem about a picture from the photographer’s point of view.

15 comments:

gautami tripathy said...

Like how you speak to your boss!

singular thoughts

RJ Clarken said...

Laurie - you are so talented!

This was an amazing poem which captured the mood perfectly. I loved the line, "...hating what we love,/loving what we hate;/it’s in our blood, boss,.."

Brilliant!

flaubert said...

Laurie, you certainly give a voice to the photo. I love tales of the sea.
Pamela

Tumblewords: said...

A wonderful take on the prompt - your words are perfect.

Anonymous said...

A latter day Marie Celeste. Beautifully written, and I like the shape, too.

Anonymous said...

You seem to understand that whole life style so well and are able to bring us into it.

http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/perfect-family-big-tent-poetry/

Mad Kane said...

Wow! That was really well done!

Dick said...

An atmospheric take on the grinding routine and claustrophobia of life at sea.

Jinksy said...

hating what we love,
loving what we hate;
it’s in our blood, boss

The call of the sea, eh?

Anonymous said...

This was full of images for all of the senses! I could really "feel" my way through this poem!

mark said...

I get the notion that this is a conversation with ghosts...regardless, I quite like this.

Laurie Kolp said...

Thank you so much for the comments everyone! That's one of the many things I love about Big Circus Poetry- everyone's so supportive and actually takes the time to read and comment. I can't tell you how much you all mean to me!

~laurie

Brenda Clews said...

You've got the character, a sailer, brilliantly. The speaking of the poem is as I would hear it too - not too much literary finesse, but enough, a sort of stream of consciousness formatted into centered lines, a mixture of admiration, memory, hunger, leadership, the sea who owns them all, the sea that they love, in a poem where I can feel the rocking decks under my feet and taste the salt of the waves.

Deb said...

Fascinating perspective. One wholly unexpected. (Just as a subject matter, not that you couldn't write it!) Yet so authorative.

Erin Davis said...

You've created such a vivid story from this photo, and I like how the boss never turns or responds...