Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Empty and Full

[For my more gentle readers, please note: Even I'm mildly offended by this poem. But I'm not very good at self-editing, so there ya go.]


Red Roofs, Marc Chagall, 1954


Empty and Full

I used to feel the tide tug and pull,
the waxing and waning of serenity.

I used to.

In those days I knew that my
body was not my own body
but only a vessel. And I kept that vessel
empty - empty and full of my own creation.
Nowadays, still tied to the moon,
my body is my own body.
The only thing that gushes forth
are these words –
more fragrant than any
monthly excretion.

This is a Magpie Tale.

21 comments:

  1. Honest. Honest and poignant.

    I feel now more consistently at peace than ever before. And now, I feel tied to the moon through choice and love, rather than through her power over me.

    Beautiful poem, Bug.

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  2. No need for the disclaimer ... Moon Goddess approves your Magpie.

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  3. The moon is an interesting metaphor for our spirit of longing, especially since it affects us both spiritually and physically. Nice job.

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  4. This is a beautiful poem. One of my favorites. And you have no need of a disclaimer. Not ever.

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  5. I like this poem and the painting goes beautifully with it.

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  6. I like this so much - delicate and earthy all at once. And isn't it true - we never lose that sense of the moon's pull, however we experience it.

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  7. Its interesting how varied a response this week's picture has brought, this was so well written and so true:)

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  8. It takes a certain amount of bravery as a writer to tackle subjects that seem impolite or explicit. (I'm not very good at it, I'll admit.) But it's also important, because talking about those things helps us experience each other's lives more deeply. In any case, while I might have been a bit more subtle in my word choices, I'm a guy -- so what do I know? :)

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  9. Sometimes a worry about offence means the poem has some power.

    I like this one... especially the short line "I used to".

    A British comedian once had a good routine about how much periods would be talked about if they were a male business (i.e. all the time!). It's such a huge part of our lives... it's quite ridiculous that we feel we can hardly mention it!

    x

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  10. Your entire poem has a rhythm that pulls and tugs. I love that.
    My fervent wish would be that every person in the world knew their own relationship with nature, and could express it as beautifully as you and Chagall do.
    Thank you for sharing this, Bug. =D

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  11. I would never have run the disclaimer.

    Never apologize for power in your work. The best poems evoke a response, and if the reader feels something, then you have triumphed.

    In Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea", the old fisherman, Santiago, remarks that the moon affects the sea "as it does a woman." The folklore of a woman's cycles and the moon is too long to go into here, but you did a wonderful job of using it as a conceit in your poem.

    The artwork adds the final touch.

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  12. A magnificent piece of your self here Bug....beautiful honest and brave! :-)

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  13. Oh yes...I'm still at the moon's mercy...thank goodness the gushing has passed...beautiful, earthy write, Bug...

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  14. hey...haven't stopped by in a while. Nice poem..I agree with the others...no disclaimer needed!

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  15. I don't think we can ever lose that link to the moon... ♥

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  16. Love it. One of my favorites.

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  17. Being a Cancer/Moon Child on the horoscope charts, I get it. And I'm with the others...no disclaimer needed...ever.

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  18. No offense taken here. What we have, what we are, is all worthy of poetry. I appreciate it very much. But I also understand and relate to the feeling that there is hesitancy too.

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Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to hear what you have to say!

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