Poetry: Duct Tape of the Soul

Poetry: Duct Tape of the Soul

Good poems are like a full roll of duct tape –
Sturdy, strong, hardworking, flexible, resistant to tearing.
Good poems, like duct tape,
Take two or more different thoughts
And stick them together good and tight,
So that the ideas touch and meet and face each other,
A durable, long-lasting union, hard to pull apart.
Good poems, like duct tape,
Should be unrolled slowly, carefully,
Not twisted or twirled or dropped.
Goods poems, like duct tape,
Can save the world!
…Well, almost…
But I’m not too worried about Armageddon –
I’ve got my pens, my journals, and good poems,
— The sticky duct tape of my soul —
To put me back together again if I fall apart.

By Kerry Vincent © 2010

The One that Got Away

(Inspired by Pablo Neruda’s sentence, “I write the first faint line…” prompt)

 

I write the first faint line…

In sand, in water, in dust,

But more often,

In the clouds,

Along the mile markers,

While I am driving along.

It’s then I have my best thoughts –

When I can’t stop and write them down.

 

The ideas sneak up behind me,

Attack metaphors,

That pounce upon me

While I am in the shower,

Again, no pen near by,

No paper on which to write.

 

I used to mourn each lost gem.

Nowadays I tell myself

I am just a good sportswoman

Practicing “catch and release” –

The ideas will come back to me someday,

When I have my waders on,

My line is taut,

My hook is sharp,

My net is ready,

And the thoughts are

Much bigger and better…

 

© Kerry Vincent