The lady wears a pink badge
I can help you find what you need
I wonder
I buy our sugar and milk
Pay the pennies
Nod my head
Leave
See, easy as pie whispers Alice
You just have to ask
I tuck her in my pocket
With the numbers and letters
They will feel important later on
The air smells like that place
That place where
My soul was chilled
Frozen
Buried in a cabin
Never to be sure shore shored again
Skip
Trip
Make the link
She thrums
A pulse inside me
I dodge traffic
Think I will make it to the railings
With the birds
Never do
It’s not the distance or the wind
It’s the courage
The urge
The risk
All packed up like a matter of fact
We get back
Last minute
I checked reality
She says
Breathless
It wasn't nice
The door is locked
Although the key isn't turned
Locked in is a feeling
Not a shiny piece of metal she twirls
My eyes lift to purple
My soul drops to gold
It’s not natural you know
Being stuck
Living thinly
Sinking in a stagnant pond
Wearing ourselves out
Like water flushing away the dunes
I ran out of feathers
So wrap myself in stones
She gobbles up the fresh sugar
We need to ride our bicycles to the moon
Leave this vicinity of gloom
She gestures dramatically
Quick sticks
And no stopping to wonder why
I just want to lie down
Stop spinning
Start spinning
Anything but this
Here I am
All bandages and smiles
Telling my story
But not
She holds out her sticky hand
The pink badge
See
Easy as pie
Just ask me
I will show you what you need.
Alice is quite a tease today; just how did she pick up that badge? And even she knows that fantasy is better than reality (well all of us writers do as well). Courage is always absent when we need it and stories only tell the part that doesn't us hurt too much. A great piece of writing Jae.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Old Egg - right on all counts - as ever..i think Alice is always a bit of a tease and is obviously light fingered as well as sticky fingered!
Deleteit's difficult time when feather is replaced by stones...."We need to ride our bicycles to the moon / Leave this vicinity of gloom" and Alice is right....
ReplyDeleteShe is indeed on that wish - thank you kindly Sumana
DeleteHere I am
ReplyDeleteAll bandages and smiles
Telling my story
But not
That is truth and not just of this piece.
http://myscatteredstones.blogspot.com/2015/10/sunday-scribblings-2-prompt-93.html
Thank you very much Chris - truth for far too many I suspect...sadly
DeleteI love the classic bicycles to the moon imagery...it causes me to think of E.T. :)
ReplyDeleteOh now you'll make me cry...thank you Hannah...we will peddle as if our lives depend on it!
DeleteSometimes when I read your poems I think of a shattered looking-glass. So many bandages if you walk on glass.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bjorn - i think that describes it perfectly..if only it were as simple as sweeping up the broken glass
DeleteI ran out of feathers
ReplyDeleteSo wrap myself in stones
This is soo moving.. so often it is that we struggle to protect ourselves from harmful external forces in this world. Beautifully executed.
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Thank you very much Sanaa - sometimes the internal forces can cause as much if not more damage..thank you kindly
DeleteLocked in is a feeling... Yes but hope there is a tiny window for sunshine to creep into your words. great writing,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much thotpurge...a tiny window is a start at least...
DeleteLots of profound thoughts here, Jae. The one that strikes me first is that the feeling of being locked doesn't depend on a key. It is a feeling one has...not dependent on a key! Always good to see you.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Mary - always good to see you too
DeleteAs always the surreal quirky quality of your writing is instantly recognizable ..a standout image is
ReplyDeletechecked reality
She says
Breathless
It wasn't nice
Another wonder-filled write
And thank you for your wonderful comment Pearl
DeleteNaughty naughty Alice! Now that poor lady will forget her name.
ReplyDeleteVisit Keith's Ramblings!
She can be a pickle - thank you kindly Keith
DeleteAnother amazing poem. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Marilyn
DeleteThis part specially struck me:
ReplyDeleteThe door is locked
Although the key isn't turned
Locked in is a feeling
Not a shiny piece of metal she twirls
Another amazing poem Jae ~
Thank you very much Grace - much appreciated
Delete"We need to ride our bicycles to the moon"
ReplyDeleteIt is, exactly this kind of dare, which keeps hope alive for another day of life
"Locked in is a feeling
Not a shiny piece of metal she twirls"
and frees life to be precisely what tomorrow has requested
Sunday Lime this morning
much love...
Yes good dares can move us forward - thank you kindly Gillena
Deletei was okay until i came to the part about being locked in. damn, i can't unlock it mentally. :(
ReplyDeletea lovely tons-of-things-to-ponder write!
Me neither...I guess we can wish our way out...eventually..hopefully..thank you ds
Delete'It’s not the distance or the wind
ReplyDeleteIt’s the courage
The urge
The risk' ~ agree, this all is motivation of our life. ~ "Locked in" I believe, we need believe - the perception: the small world still possible to fill with purpose....~ and yes, we need not afraid to ask, to wake up others, who scared of 'unfamiliar territories'...
Thank you kindly humbird..courage is the key! We hope to find it :)
DeleteI ran out of feathers
ReplyDeleteSo wrap myself in stones
I found these two lines to be so affecting, within the narrative. I admire the way you convey a sense of conversation in your poetry.
Thank you very much Kerry
DeleteWOW! I was most struck by the same lines as Kerry, "I ran out of feathers, so wrapped myself in stones." And "it's not the distance or the wind, it's the courage." I hear that something traumatic happened in that cabin, that is still causing pain. And I love the bicycle to the moon lines....I love that Hannah thought of E.T. - that is pretty perfect. "E.T. phone home." Wherever home is, right, kiddo? I think it lives inside us.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sherry - I suppose we all have our cabins tucked in the recesses of our memory where things were even worse..then we grow a little can cycle away bit by bit...maybe if we are lucky even find the moon or the safe place inside - which is indeed home xo
DeleteOn this difficult heartbreaking day I am having your words were hard for me...
ReplyDelete"It’s not natural you know
Being stuck
Living thinly
Sinking in a stagnant pond
Wearing ourselves out
Like water flushing away the dunes"
I think sometimes it is natural given circumstances in our lives as we try to work out of those dark places....big hugs to you!
Donna@LivingFromHappiness
Thank you for sticking with our words on a difficult day - much appreciated..yes life does seem to present challenges we need to work our way out of...perhaps we do it word by word - warm regards and a hug back (I find they help too ;)
DeleteI loved all wrapped up, matter of fact...and the last line from the 'little one' who thinks she knows! Wonderful piece!
ReplyDeleteLittle ones often do! Thank you kindly Annell xo
DeleteLocked in....no, it doesn't require a lock and key, does it? But I like these words: It’s the courage The urge The risk' ....that's the way to get free. Excellent and surreal but right on the mark. Hayes Spencer is Kanzensakura
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Hayes...now to leave the house..I suppose freedom starts in opening the door...even looking out the window maybe too
Deletedark places and so much wisdom in it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Natasa - we could use a climb to that beautiful church on the hill
DeleteHere I am
ReplyDeleteall bandages and smiles
telling my story
but not
We all do the same. I can remember when it was a 'good' day because no one asked, so I didn't have to lie. But then I began to write, it was the key and it took a long time to realize that. We only write well when we write about what we know. That means you and I are doing very well indeed, my friend. And again, Alice is correct: locked in isn't about a metal key and it isn't about courage either. We already have that or we wouldn't be doing this thing that we do. Hugs to both of you,
Elizabeth
What a wonderful comment - thank you Elizabeth - yes we are doing well...should really remember that..hugs and moon wishes back to you
DeleteAmazing writing, as ever, the way you put me right inside your experience....
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Rosemary
DeleteCool stutter: "sure shore shored" where
ReplyDelete"The air smells like that place
That place where
My soul was chilled . . . "
You let the reader see your narrator losing her poise, poise that led her to attempt the store, the excursion from her room. Oh that air! In it, how can she make the railing or dodge traffic? So back to the room where Alice is always ready to encourage her to stay because reality "isn't nice." I don't think I've seen your narrator outside the locked room before, have I? I appreciate the dilemma of out/in, nowhere safe that you present. What can one do in such a trap? And again, it is a moving poem, worthy of the book ...
Thank you very much Susan - what a wonderful comment...we haven't left the room for a while have we..perhaps going to the store is worth more than we give it credit
DeleteI checked reality it wasn't nice - you know sometimes reality is sad and painful and I think sometimes that is what locks one in...
ReplyDeletei think you are right Truedessa...when used positively dreams and wishes can be the best way to brighten our lives
DeleteThe courage to step outside our comfort zone is so very hard.
ReplyDeleteIt really is - thank you very much GL
DeleteWe need to ride our bicycles to the moon
DeleteLeave this vicinity of gloom
One yearns to solve the problem and willing to try out the most ridiculous of ways.
Hank
Oh yes we have tried far more ridiculous ways than riding our bicycles to the moon! Thank you kindly Hank
DeleteI wish our supermarket had helpful ladies wearing pink badges to shepherd us to the things we need... They keep changing the place where everything is stacked and I can never find anything I want. Explains why I come back home with bags and bags of groceries I don't need :-)
ReplyDeleteAh but wearing the badge doesn't mean they wear a smile and lend a helping hand...which is funny in itself..and we always come home with far too much sugar! Thank you kindly Nicholas
Delete