![]() |
photo © 2014 Jennifer
Wagner
Chihuly Garden and Glass Seattle, WA
|
who knows
what may come
what may grow
from an open palm,
a seed pearl
missing,
slipped from its
shell
into dark fleshy loam
sweetness? light?
drought? blight?
who knows
what may come
from paper to lips
both
dust
and sugar bowls
tip
to
the tip,
to
the tip,
from word
to
poem
the ink
is drunk
or
sipped
and a new world jewel
sprouts
honeyed
and/or blue
but
it’s up to the reader
what
it
will
do
© 2014 Jennifer
Wagner
This is for dVersePoetics - Seeding, where Shanyn invited us to imagine our words as seeds.
She makes the point
that “Words have power, but like seeds, we don’t often get to see what goes on
beneath the surface and can only observe what is growing after it comes out of
the soil.” I am too late for the link,
but here is my offering.
Awesome! poem. Very imaginative and moving images for my brain to capture the visuals.
ReplyDeleteI like this poem very much and greatly written. :)
That's the truth of it I think! Liked this a bunch Jennifer!
ReplyDeletetrue that....once we write it, it is up to the reader in how they will interpret it...we let it go when we put the seed to the earth...and as much as we may want it to grow in one way, it may in another....
ReplyDeleteour prompts are similar so i tagged you into tonights...hosts perogative...smiles...
Thanks Brian--what a nice surprise! You are a most gracious host.
DeleteWho knows what will sprout and indeed its up to the reader to decide what to do ~ I love that new world jewel ~
ReplyDeleteGrace
So very true. It is the reader who, in the end, finds meaning in your words.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! Yes, who knows?!
ReplyDeletebut
it’s up to the reader
what
it
will
do
Cool photo too!
ReplyDeleteVery true unless we see the outcome we can't just assess the impact!
ReplyDeleteA word of encouragement just might change the world !
ReplyDeletethe ink /is drunk - love that image, Jen. ~
ReplyDeleteUltimately, you nailed it, but I like to think we manipulate the reader a little. Here, for example, you lead with short lines and spacing, a long column of things going down--a pearl, a word, a meaning. You leave the reader holding the bag with wonder. Tricky indeed, and wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThats very sweet and lovely What come next is always a mystery.
ReplyDeleteSo true, I love the poem and the title is great...sometimes a poet has no idea what she/he has written until the reader tells us.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you wrote this. I too think that words can be used akin to seeds, they can sprout and grow into something beautiful if we receive them as such :)
ReplyDeleteyes - it's always a bit up to the reader as well as we all read and understand in a different way - that is one of the things with words that makes it difficult on one hand when it comes to communication but magical when it comes to poetry
ReplyDeleteOh, I do enjoy how these words slip down the page with their questions. And, of course, the answer depends on the reader.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.. I feel exactly the same.. Sometimes the true meaning is created by the reader.. And sometimes the opposite I might have meant.. Which is why I love ambiguity..,
ReplyDeleteI agree that meaning starts with the poet but how the reader receives it is a true sign that they have succeeded.
ReplyDeleteWe write a world as we seed it, carefully tilling that thought into a bloom. It is always interesting when you think you planted a Black-Eyed Susan, but up comes an American Beauty upon the light of another's reading.
ReplyDeleteLove the cadence your choice of rhyme/near rhyme confers upon this piece, Jennifer. There is a profound message in this, at first blush, somewhat whimsical write. Very clever.
ReplyDeleteWonderful. Enjoyable to read aloud
ReplyDeletei like the way you connected both the themes! more power to your words!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this, Jennifer. It's like little drops of magic dripping into my hands. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe might have one meaning in mind and the reader might conclude another also; perhaps they miss the point..it happens...I don't know that there is a remedy for that, if it did happen. ;)
ReplyDeleteMesmerising... Who knows what will come...but everything that comes from you is just spellbinding. :)
ReplyDeleteI liked how you questioned things here... one of the hazards of writing, we never know who's heart we touch but still continue to write
ReplyDeleteLove it and the pic from Chichuly :)
ReplyDeleteThe idea that it's up to the reader...so accurate. It always amazes me, when reading comments, how vastly different interpretations can be of the very same post. Adds to the creativity of the words...we plant them as we intend and then they take on a life of their own in how they are received and read. Great pacing in this post :-)
ReplyDeleteStunning. Just love this.
ReplyDeleteMind spills
ReplyDeletePen to paper
This writer's ink in sight
Drawing out these nomadic thoughts
A river
__Reading, that which someone else has written, so often inspires, as did this, this Cinquain. Nice Jen! _m