Saturday, February 23, 2013

Dove

Grayness opening out
from a white shaft, slow
gentle increase in hue
never quite reaching black.

A message for me
my cold hands deep
in pockets, and still
such icy fingertips.

So humble on the asphalt
this nun of a feather seeming
grateful for the empty
day, wind free, dead quiet.

A vast nothing of an afternoon,
made clear by a feather.




The Sunday Mini-Challenge - 14 lines

19 comments:

  1. Nice. Sometimes it takes something as small as a feather to give clarity to a day!

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  2. I like the humble feather, grateful for the empty day and dead quiet ~

    Lovely work on the 14 lines ~

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    1. Thanks for your comment. I was amazed that the feather held a sonnet sized effect.

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  3. I LOVE "vast nothing(s) of an afternoon".........they are my favorite. I love the feather and all that it adds to this poem!

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  4. This is a beautiful description of a single feather. I always feel the need to pick one up. What struck me about your approach to the 14 line poem is that every stanza is a single sentence. While reading I felt impelled on to the next description and so on until the end. My favourite image is the 'nun of a feather'.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. I hadn't thought about the cascade effect of the stanzas. I've been working in shorter forms so this was really interesting.

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  5. Hi Lorna,
    There is not much I can add following Kerry's perceptive comment. Each line a 'page-turner'. Taut and to the point.

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  6. a "nun"!
    solitary
    and evocative of so much mystery

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    1. That was an image that really surprised me. You never know what will come up.

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  7. ... stopping to smell the roses... sweet words I've found... if we only took the time to see the world around us

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    1. I work on it every day - or, rather than work, I just allow myself to slow down. Thanks for the comment.

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  8. I love mourning doves. This sort of day that you have described, seems perfect for taking a lesson from her, I think.

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    1. Thanks. I gave it that title - thought about how much I love hearing them.

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  9. Lovely imagery, Lorna, your "nun of a feather" especially.

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    1. Thanks Maureen, I have the feather on my desk. I'm working on a Wabi Sabi theme for a One Breath Poets meeting and it is keeping me grounded!

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  10. Beautiful, almost painfully so.
    McGuffy's Reader
    http://www.mcguffysreader.blogspot.com

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  11. Lorna,
    This is filled with wonder~
    I love it...
    I had to read it again ;D

    Really lovely!

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  12. Wow, chilling to read. I enjoyed the work very much.

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  13. "nun of a feather" peace-filled, pray-like, quiet, settled, content. I had a few nuns in high school and most of them were NOT the ruler swatting kind at all, but the way I just described. Lovely poem.

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