Tuesday, July 05, 2005

The "object" poem

We then had a little "show & tell" session. Each of us brought an intriguing object and presented it to others. Then we wrote about it (or them) in 15 minutes. Here is mine:

MEMORABLE OBJECTS

A hat is left behind, a song lingers in the air
but the man is gone.
Where to? Nobody knows.

See this irregular piece of concrete?
It used to be a wall.
If it had ears, it must have heard
people shot in the noman's land.

Stars are never reachable,
as "each one is a setting sun" (Wilco).
But this star can hide in your hands
and it shines, secretly, with the scent of far salt.

Oh, this kidney is so thin!
The kidney can shape, scrape
the kidney bends to give life
and you're the one to choose its contour.


Note: the objects are an old hat, a chip off the Berlin Wall, a dried starfish, and a piece of metal called "kidney" and used in ceramic sculpture.