We shake the candy jar
Unsettle the sugar
Excuse me while I scream
She says
My house is falling down
Force
Quit
Surrender
The pollen drifts
A sugar trail memory
Stuck beneath our fingertips
Mass
Chant
Rant
Sound falls
Heavy as bricks
Thick as words
She runs the map in her head
Like a trance
Where are you going
I ask
Wherever the road sends me
She replies
I bite my lip
Red flows down
Sweet as cherry blossom rain
Drip drop
Please stop
She lifts the blinds
Mother bird
Silver pot
Water in the sky
It’s really all quite marvellous
She declares
Like a magic show
Or the bestest news
I roll over
Block my eyes
Light
Bright
Tight
She settles on the floor
Sips moonbeams from a paper cup
Thinks a little bit
Do you believe in happy ever after
I shake my head
The pollen drifts
A sugar trail memory
Stuck beneath our fingertips
We shake the candy jar
Unsettle the sugar
Excuse me while I scream
She says
My heart is falling down.
The pollen drifts
ReplyDeleteA sugar trail memory
Stuck beneath our fingertips
Gosh these lines are so beautifully poignant Jae. Sometimes troubles in life act as a whiff of scent beneath our noses.. heavy and unmoving.. lingering as a constant reminder of the mess we are in. I adore the tender yet powerful feelings which your poem evokes.
Beautifully executed. Thank you so much for participating at Prompt Nights and for your constant love and support :D
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Thank you Sanaa - perfectly put about scent and it's association with how things are - always a pleasure to take part too
DeleteShe settles on the floor
ReplyDeleteSips moonbeams from a paper cup
Thinks a little bit..... I'd like a cup of that to think along with.
It would be rather scrumptious wouldn't it - thank you Debi
DeleteSometimes its really hard to beieve
ReplyDelete"Do you believe in happy ever after
I shake my head"
especially when our eyes are glued to TV news; Oh but we must
much love...
Yes, try we must..thank you kindly Gillena
DeleteYour poem has left my mouth full of sugar-storms and falling things. Such beauty... blooming in the breaking. ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you Magaly - blooming in the breaking - what a great description ♥️
Deleteit's good to see her settle down even if on floor and trying to believe in happy ever after than to walk in a trance...Alice is moonstruck, ha, all poets are :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sumana - it's good to be a little moonstruck at times :)
DeleteI too believe in going wherever the road sends me. Uphill climbs, sharp bends and the occasional dead end. Life is an adventure isn't it Alice?
ReplyDeleteHere is my FFftPP
That it is Keith - although j is a little slow on the hills - too much sugar no doubt ;)
Deleteperhaps if the candy jar was unshaken the house might stand still! another delightful but pointed tussle with your doppelgänger who urges you to look out! (is it a warning, a threat or a plea for extrospection?!)
ReplyDeleteLike a snow globe.. yes..maybe we should let the sugar settle..i think it maybe a plea for extrospection..heaven knows we must be bored by now - thank you telltale
DeleteBetween house to heart falling down, this narrator gets smaller and stiller. I like her one word lines, snippets from the sugar jar, or maybe the ends/echoes of scream.
ReplyDeleteLike falling down the rabbit hole or drinking the potion - i think those snippets may well be the latter option - thank you kindly Susan
DeleteTo use sugar and cookies to express the pain.. Words as bricks falling down. Spectacular.
ReplyDeleteThey should be more fun shouldn't they! Thank you very much Bjorn
DeleteYes, we all have to go where the road sends us. We walk along and hope the experiences along the way are good ones....that that a 'happily ever after' is on the horizon!
ReplyDeleteYes - maybe that's what keeps us walking - thank you kindly Mary...may there be a rainbow on that horizon for all of us
DeleteSweet as cherry blossoms rain, ah, memories. Though I am trying to imagine whether it's blood or some medicine.
ReplyDeleteThe shaking of head - an assurance that after all there's still a place of "happily ever after". If there's none in the real world, we can find it in our hearts.
Thanks for this Jae.
I remember your cherry blossom post Totomai! Let's say it's some good medicine - thank you too
DeleteWhere are you going. I ask
ReplyDeleteWherever the road sends me
She replies
It is good to keep the options open as it can mean more choices to work on. Nicely Jae!
Hank
Choice is always a good thing - thank you very much Hank
DeleteFrom the house falling down to the heart falling down, this poem is sad and sweet. I love the Mother Bird who appeared in your poem and on your nearby rooftop...........she is bringing hope. (I sent her. Smiles.) A beautiful poem as always, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sending her - and for being her maybe too - I guess sad and sweet is better than two helpings of sad! Thank you kindly Sherry 🕊
DeleteI think so....
DeleteMe too ;)
DeleteBoy sometimes that sugar is not as sweet as it claims...and we are stuck with the aftermath.
ReplyDeleteDonna@LivingFromHappiness
Like it's stuck in our teeth! Thank you Donna...
DeleteIt’s really all quite marvellous
ReplyDeleteShe declares
Like a magic show
Or the bestest news
Wish life were always like this, but sometimes the sugar does unsettle. Still, its nice to know there's some sugar.
Maybe sugar isn't so sweet when there's too much of it - but like a little cloud it's good to know it's there - thank you Myrna
Delete"Yes Virgina, there is a Santa Clause," and "happy ever after" is possible, it is all up to us. My wwrite today, was also about "after." And when it is over, it is still up to us.....xoxoxoxohugs sugarbear
ReplyDeleteYes the sugar is in our hands...thank you kindly (nobody's called me sugar bear before tsk - maybe because I'm grumpy bear) thank you Annell xo
DeleteFrom the opening onwards, perhaps 'bittersweet' sums it up?
ReplyDeleteThank you Colonialist - I think it sums it up perfectly
DeleteWonderfully full of anxiety and suspense, and ... wonder.
ReplyDeleteThank you Marilyn - we like the last word best ;)
DeleteWhat is happy ever after? We are as happy as we allow ourselves to be. And I'm with Alice, the path takes us where it will and accepting that might even allow us to be happy especially if we can sip moonbeams from a paper cup. Really like the vivid imagery in this one...
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Thank you Elizabeth - true as moonbeams - but so hard to allow ourselves that at times..well, always...we will keep sipping and trying..and see where we land
DeleteI like 'sips moonbeams from a paper cup', Jae... very reflective.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated - thank you Tom
DeleteSips moonbeams from a paper cup... that is such a great line. It really makes me think. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteThank you Matthew..
DeletePhew--intense emotion here, Jae Rose, that begs a backstory. For me it felt like dealing with a person with a bipolar disorder. Then again, perhaps everyday life in all its ups and downs.
ReplyDeleteI think you named that disorder in one try! Thank you Liv2 ..although yes, everybody has their ups and downs..thank you very much
Deleteexcuse me while i scream
ReplyDeletemy heart is falling down
i will catch it and wedge it
between the space in the wall
does not matter if the jagged edges
of the bricks cut into it
it's got to stay in one piece
it is not going down
what?
for a prick like that
no way
that's how i deal with these matters
something i can relate to at the moment
apologies for my lack of eloquence on this occasion
Rallentanda - you never lack eloquence, elegance or empathy - much appreciated...a comment worthy of becoming a poem in itself.. thank you
DeleteDo you believe in happy ever after... just the unanswerable question one can ask while sipping moonbeams from paper cups! Love it Jae.
ReplyDeleteExactly that! I guess if we knew the answer we may not have any more adventures to pursue - thank you thotpurge!
DeleteIt is very hard not to drag the past with you. Happy ever after is perhaps an impossible dream and we should be satisfied with bouts of bliss and laughter and hold on tight to those through the dark times. That is why looks and words, touch and scent are so important to treasure within you. You really do dig deep into our minds Jae with your wonderful writing.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for your thoughtful and wonderful comment Old Egg - a prolonged happy ever after may become normal so you're no doubt right that bursts of bliss are the best boost..thank you
DeleteA beautiful poem with a bittersweet feel to it. Love this vivid image of: "A sugar trail memory Stuck beneath our fingertips". I can almost taste and smell sugar from your depiction :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope it is sweet! Thank you very much Khaya :)
DeleteA wonderful word tapestry woven through this piece: dazzles of sugar and moonbeams amongst the sounds that fall as heavy as bricks. This is so well written.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Wendy - dazzles of sugar and moonbeams do sound scrumptious!
Delete"wherever the road send me"
ReplyDeleteand when there's a fork
we toss a coin.
sorry, i got carried away. :)
there's so much lovely imagery :
"A sugar trail memory
Stuck beneath our fingertips"
"Sips moonbeams from a paper cup"..
yes, as someone already commented, a bittersweet feel to this poem.
I'm glad you got carried away I think it led you to a poem ;) thank you very much
DeleteI don't know the story behind these words...but they speak to me of the pain of loss and anger. Sad yet beautiful XXX
ReplyDeleteI think that is the story - thank you for seeing it Gina
DeleteJae Rose I always love the way you use the inanimate (like sugar) and give it motion.
ReplyDeleteUnstable walls
things are never as they seem
sugar frowns
Thank you for taking the sugar out of the jar also Leslie - yes sugar frowns 😔
Delete