Pearl
Deep in
my clamshell bed
I grit a
pearl
out of
that sharp thing you left behind
as the
mollusk flexes its muscled head
rolls
and clenches round it, foot-tongue curled
on the
tiny doubt it can't unwind.
~January
2013
Image: 19th Century Courtesan Cora Pearl
via wikipedia and seriykotik 1970 on flick'r
mmm dang...nice use of the clam & pearl in this...that grit that wont go away, tongue curled round it...the tiny doubt you cant unwind...tight little piece hedge...smiling at your tag as well...
ReplyDeleteHow you manage to convey so much with so few words is very impressive Joy.
ReplyDeleteYet another gem, shot through with brilliance.
you've made physical the emotionally "stuck.". I felt like I'd completed a workout after reading and still hadn't accomplished my goals. Do we always think the pearl is the goal? I am beginning to see that we/humans rather like the flexing, clenching, and curling. maybe it gives us a sense of purpose. Still, purpose indicates an intended outcome, which perhaps there is no way around. The physical beauty of the pearl is, for me anyway, enhanced by its process of becoming. Tiny doubt is treasure. Great write, Hedge.
ReplyDeleteWitchlight indeed, of the very finest. You created this poem with such precision. Wowzers.
ReplyDeleteWonderful. The poem actually does kind of roll around its tight shell, sort of like that foot-tongue. Good thing that you got a Pearl out of too! (Which you did.) Love the muscled head here too - a lot of kind of oxymorons. And such a twist on foot in mouth (my version.) k.
ReplyDeletePS - It's really a wonderful poem = it's wonderful that youve' kept it all so tightly wound. k.
I'm sorry - incoherent with fatigue - I meant that it was a good thing you got a pearl out of it - it is a pearl--so you are producing the pearl that you are also achieving in the poem. (A sort of double whammy of speaker and poet.) That's what I was trying to say. k.
ReplyDeleteThanks, k. You sound like you might want to cuddle up with your personal Pearl and get some rest! I'm glad you approve of the brevity--I thought this might work into a larger piece, but it never did, so there ya go. Thanks for reading.
Delete...and isn't this exactly what we do as poets, to take the sucky hurtful grating things and turn them into something which hopefully possesses beauty and value?
ReplyDeletePS--the gal in the photograph is hot, in an 1890 kind of way! ;-)
Love this. beautiful poem!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fine poem...the idea of the pearl is so apt: we can all relate, I think, to the idea of trying to make something beautiful from that small, incessant stimulus. What's best is you've condensed this so well. Nothing wasted, nothing extra. A terrific composition.
ReplyDeletedamn that teensy nagging doubt. gonna cause a blister pretty soon.
ReplyDeletethis is clever, love the allusion. and always with such perfect wording. great to be reading you again, i've been away too long, and missed too much. i'll have to come back and get caught up.
ReplyDeleteThanks wood. I see you're still not allowing comments, so I'll just say, I do read and always enjoy, sometimes am blown away by, your posts. If you do come back and read, you might like Herpetology or Crossroads--the rest is pretty lightweight this month cause I've been trying to stop writing depressing shit here.
DeleteMoonbat...
ReplyDeleteMost impressive allegory.
And I loved the pic!!
The word Courtesan has always amused me.
They were the first groupies!
This Pearl seems quite cultured.
Thanks for your mid-week visit
G
Cultured! *groans* She was the mistress of Louis Napoleon. You know, he runs that bakery the Amish mafia likes so much. Thanks G--I have a 55 in the chute for you Friday.
DeleteSigh.... This, in itself, is a fabulous pearl of a poem. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteI had to stare at the picture for a minute first. What a beautiful, mysterious, intriguing picture. Her name was Pearl. I think you've captured the essence of this word/name.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark. Yes, and a name she chose for herself(like Janis Joplin) She was born Emma Eliza. I've just ordered her memoirs(Grand Horizontal: The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Lady.) But I wrote the poem before I ever knew about her--she just seemed to go with it.
DeleteDeep in my clamshell bed
ReplyDeleteI grit a pearl
is the opening to end all openings! :D
saying wide things in a narrow field here hedge
though it totally expands in the reading . . .
she sounds like quite a gal huh? that is a picture and a half
and if
Grand Horizontal: The Erotic Memoirs of a Passionate Lady
isnt the best title for selling books ever, then i just dont know!
What a title!
Some subtle ryhme and great word choices hedge
you indeed birthed a Pearl
You wrapped up this analogy so efficiently - a pearl indeed.
ReplyDeleteAnd thus, we create and produce and move on.
ReplyDelete