I swallow buttons and bows
To make myself pretty
You know
The mirror broke
Wore away
Like his face
Her feet
On cold stones
Bare
Like a harvest
She wraps the new glass
In brown paper
I don’t want to undo it
Unwrap what she gave me
Look up
There are colours in the sky
Fluid as the turn of the helicopter
Blades
The cloud
Sat plump on the water
The supermarket crashed
Thud
The sound of the glass
Dropping
The sound of the blade
Dropping
The sound of the penny
Dropping
You’ll be alright in a minute
You know I won’t
Forever more shall be
Conquer your hunger
It says
On the telephone box
As if it knows the battle
Of me
Walking by
Buttons and bows
Will not suffice
I think
And so I turn to powder and pins.
Stunning imagery here! Swallowing buttons and bows and finally turning into powder and pins! What a boudoir!
ReplyDeleteHer Three Poems
A boudoir to be entered cautiously however..thank you Magical..
Deletewinning the battle is the most important thing
ReplyDeleteYes..fight by fight..just like Emmett..thank you Sheilagh..
Deletesometimes the advertisements we pass do feel like they are talking just to us!
ReplyDeletePhew! Glad it's not just me..thank you Robyn..
DeleteYour poems are always so realistic with a twist ... love it !!!
ReplyDeleteAlways with a twist! Thank you very much Green Speck..
DeleteSwallowing buttons and bows... powder and pins, always so visual. Conquer your hunger, the advert says...tell that to the broke and homeless. Amazing imagery again Jae.
ReplyDeleteThank you Daydreamer..so many people dispossessed..the words on the walls make little sense unless you belong perhaps..even then they are probably false dreams..
Deletethere are days when I'm tempted to eat bows and buttons in the hope that it will change me...ahh the good advertiser. Vivid images :)
ReplyDeleteThank you DandelionGirl..perhaps we should try wearing them..conventional i know..but could work ;)
DeleteLook up to the colors in the sky, no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI will try..I will try..thank you Laurie..
DeleteDark places here. I agree with Laurie. Look up!
ReplyDeleteThank you J Cosmo..looking up from my gutter..there are stars somewhere there..I'm sure..
DeleteGood old Oscar Wilde could see the stars from the gutter. Never mind the muck all around you there is something better, you can see it. What happened to Alice?
ReplyDeleteAlice was making a call..in the phone box..she's always there..quietly..laying down clues to something better..thank you Old Egg..
DeleteOpening that package is way too scary.
ReplyDeleteIt is..some packages should remain tightly bound in string..or torn into little pieces..thank you Alice..
DeleteThe dreaded package... perhaps one ought not feel obliged to open it. And the buttons and bows can be so very helpful if properly dosed and prescribed; but those powders and pins are scary. No one is ever completely sure of their source or their power.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... sounds a bit like Voodoo, doesn't it? ;-)
It's a slight variation on the drink me label it's true..some things are safer left under wraps..thank you thank you..
Deletehi jae, i love how you go deep into the subconscious and pull out all the fears and ideas, each poem like a chapter of alice and wonderland [my fav]
ReplyDeleteThank you so Paige..Alice was nipping at the edges of this page..I put her in but wasn't sure she sat pretty there..maybe she was back in the real wonderland..my fav too..thank you..
DeleteButtons and bows would never do it for me either, Jae. But neither would powder and pins.
ReplyDeleteNo..neither is good Mary..both should be for outside use only! Thank you..
DeleteBare
ReplyDeleteLike a harvest
The way you master imagery--every time I expect it, but then am completely amazed all over again.
Thank you very much Nico..that means a lot..
DeletePerhaps buttons and bows will make us gag...only to find powder and pins, ough! Just like a page from your diary, and so another day goes... and we go on. Wonderful and unique, as always!
ReplyDeleteThank you Annell..another page turned..jelly and ice cream maybe a nicer treat..for tomorrow x
DeleteButtons and Bows! Remember how the song went: "East is East, and West is West, and the wrong one I have chose" ? Go South my girl, and let the powder be fine Mediterranean sand.
ReplyDeleteEverything is going south..no fear Altonian! Mediterranean sand would be nice though thank you.,
DeleteThe beginning is mesmerizing!
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly M.A.S..
DeleteButtons and bows don't help when swallowed, but neither do powder and pins. It only complicates things. I'm trying to forget the mirror, too. The darn thing is too harsh. You and I need a dose of sheer fun!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be a good prescription..thank you Belva.. :)
Deletebuttons and bows....fade, tear, break. Even powder and pins are only temporary solutions. But we are so tied up in the packaging of everything. If it doesn't LOOK nice it must not BE nice, but most packages eventually turn to dust and pretty wrappings usually end up in the trash.
ReplyDeleteBut. There is a beauty in stones, in bare, in the graffiti on the call box, the humanity that is under all of the paint. The inside heart that reels from the sound of breaking glass. You share that. Here. Laying it down and we lap it up for free.
Thank you so Dee..discarded ribbons..bows..paper..always catch my eye when out walking..it's like a moment of love thrown away..and when your landscape is bare..it's tempting to pick up..like it will transfer some love to 'you'..of course it is just wrapping..fundamentals..essences..are of course where love can be found..and felt..i appreciate you coming along..it's priceless..
Delete...And so I turn to powder and pins. Geez, Jae, this was powerful, an absolute gut-wrencher. I was with you all the way, especially as far as the broken glass (heart?) and the new one given, carefully wrapped. Even if my interpretation is wrong, your poems still resonate with me for days. Thx also for your encouragement... will have news on Monday. Love, Amy
ReplyDeleteThank you Amy..wishing you all my best wishes for Monday..I think your interpretation is perfect..one i hadn't even seen myself..which is always illuminating for me..passing you a virtual..big..complete..and finely wrapped heart..
Delete