On hard ground
I sit
hand outstretched
exposed
to your largesse
reaching back
On hard ground
I rest
body still
exposed
to your eyes
looking down
On hard ground
I huddle
back hunched
exposed
to your feet
walking by
On hard ground
I wait
dreams arrested
exposing
my soul
curling up
On hard ground
I lay down.
End of story.
There's this new pub in cyberland -- dVerse Poets. It's a place where poets, lovers of poetry, and anyone just wanting to experience it meet up and share -- wonder, words and wisdom. This poem is submitted using the Poetics prompt of “Play It Again, Sam: Repetititon in Poetry”. Do pop on over, visit awhile, read, wonder and be inpsired. Let the muse take you! dVerse Poets.
And... PS. A note on this poem.
I am always in awe of how the muse stirs and creates. This morning, I read Glynn Young of Faith. Fiction. Friends submission for dVerse Poets and thought -- love this! His poem, At Work Each Day captures the essence of much of my work too -- except, I do my work in a homeless shelter.
I didn't think about writing a poem though. That didn't happen until I wandered on over to Nance Marie's, A Little Something, and looking back through her blog from past week (I was a little busy and tired and engaged with my guests I didn't have a lot of time for online pleasures) and saw Nance Marie's Friday post which included the work of photographer, Michael O'Brien. He has a book, Hard Ground.
and then, it happened, the muse awoke, I remembered Glynn's comment on the Poetics prompt, hopped on over to dVerse Poets, read the wisdom there on repetition in poetry and voila! On Hard Ground appeared.
Have a marvelous Sunday.
14 comments:
thought this was good how you saw it from the street persons perspective ...thank you x
on hard ground...this repetition has a haunting quality...always taking us back there to where we are..exposed..waiting...hoping...love that you end it with laying down...finding rest even in difficult circumstances
Thanks Claudia.
Lovely to see you!
Thanks Kez! I work in a homeless shelter -- seeing it from the perspective of the person on the street keeps me engaged and humbled and inspired.
Nice retelling of a story... On hard ground.. strikes a chord. I think it is great that you work in a homeless shelter gives you a rich and rewarding experience. Thanks for sharing this ~
Have a great Sunday as well ~
relating is
alive
repeating
echoing
heartbeats
of
Love
Beauty even in the most difficult of times. Wonderful piece.
I love your ending
On hard ground
I lay down
End of story
very well done
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/09/24/loneliness-the-anger-of-lost-hope/
I like the way you structured the repeating phrases here--really held up the changes you walked us through from a ground's eye view--I'm seeing someone homeless or living on the street, but it could also be a metaphorical picture. Nicely done, Louise.
the hard ground in its repitition becomes very symbolic of what is happening through out your verse...very nicely penned....
I like it. :)
Oh, that last line.
I remember the story of the man in the mall, sitting on the hard floor. After reticence, you entered his space to help him. You drew out what he was feeling. You saw his experience from his eyes. It's a gift.
To me. Thank you.
The end of the story is rarely so neat as that elegant last line though, is it?
great job capturing the perspective of the homeless, the repetition providing a concrete view.
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