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Monday, August 13, 2012

Yellow-Bricked

A response to Three Word Wednesday


I walked along the left side of a dirt road, unsure.
one patch seems ominous; I stick my hand into the soil, I breathe.
"so here you are,"  I say, not knowing whom to speak of.
I take a moment of finality-- the earth welcomes me.

the rope at my feet coils and uncoils itself uneasily and I twine it in my fingers.
the birds seem weary, and thankful.
for a moment I think of my mother, mothers always trace your path before you know you have one
worms trickle over my splayed palm and I imagine her.

I am sun-drenched, canteen full
I pull on my straw-lined uniform
stand against a wooden board, my grave-bed
"wrap the covers 'round me, sister," and I am bound.
my audience watches and I blush from the spectators drawn here to witness with beady eyes

I look at the sky, I breathe
I look at the earth, I breathe
I look at my hands, I breathe
while the earth crumbles beneath.


6 comments:

  1. I'm not too sure what this person is doing. I want to say Bungee jumping, but, that rope doesn't seem right. Very deep and thought provoking write. Loved the imagery.
    Thanks for visiting me :)

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  2. I sort of wanted it to be a mystery, but if you think hard enough about the title and the bird imagery, I think you'll get it:)
    let me know if you figure it out.

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  3. I get the vibe of someone confronting death/badness in the stead of others (scarecrow warding off death symbols--a.k.a.--crows).

    Baum reference in the title?

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  4. Jack,
    YES, YES, YES!
    everyone takes something different from theis poem, and I enjoy hearing every different viewpoint.

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  5. I guess I read this too literally because I thought it was about the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.

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  6. Paul, there were about 800 different ideas that led me to this poem. One of them in the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. you're not entirely wrong.

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