a treatise on leadership

Uncategorized 1 Minute

a cascade poem

written for fireblossom’s william wordsworth word garden

promises piled like foxgloves
our hopes crammed into suitcases 
and we've brought ourselves here 
gibbous as moons
waiting to be heard

the train wails and leans
and we’re headlong like pitchforks
scraping black curves beneath the moon
in our overgrown minds
promises piled like foxgloves 

we disembark and night’s a dome 
we’re not ready for such a stand-up sky. 
with bowed heads and obscured eyes, 
we paint pavements with agreed visions
our hopes crammed into suitcases

and now we walk tail-slunk and weary
those moths that flicker around 
street lights’ yellow ache
remind our pale hearts how to beat 
and we brought ourselves here

into this weighty cold, hung with stars
and insensate as hoof strike
it holds hostage our uncried fears
pasty blank faces 
gibbous as moons

we’ve come to find those foxgloves
brave multiples of empty
purple handshakes like footless socks
grabbing for warmth
we’re waiting to be heard

Published by abigfatcanofworms

We all walk in the dark. But if we hold hands, perhaps the dark won't be as scary.

Published

27 thoughts on “a treatise on leadership”

  1. Love it…
    “into this weighty cold, hung with stars
    and insensate as hoof strike
    it holds hostage our uncried fears
    pasty blank faces
    gibbous as moons”.

    Sigh, such poetic talent.

    Liked by 2 people

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  2. “remind our hearts how to beat”. That is just such a fine phrase. The very notion that that could happen is poetry itself. Cascade poems aren’t easy, but i love reading them. Great job, Jo!

    –Shay

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  8. Fascinating observation I’ve made reading your marvelous poems: I find myself being carried away in the breeze like a billowy dandelion puff, oblivious to everything but your eloquent words.
    I’m quite sure you’d make an excellent Scrabble player!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Ha ha! My main Scrabble opponent is my Mum and she wins more often than me. I think it’s about 70/30 in her favour. She’s so good at tucking words into tricky corners that get her points in multiple directions and can work even of she has impossible letters.

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  10. “the train wails and leans
    and we’re headlong like pitchforks
    scraping black curves beneath the moon’

    An amazing image and what an imaginative mind you have. I read it three times and understood it so much better – reading this once just isn’t enough to understand it. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thank you Margaret!! So kind of you to take the time to read it three times!! This one did not come easily and I only figured out what to write about (the topic) a long way through the drafting process. So it wouldn’t surprise me if it ended up a little muddled.

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  12. So, so good. The cascade worked perfectly. So many lines leaning into the tracks like the train, taking us through the night with our suitcases of hope, but these in particular:

    “and now we walk tail-slunk and weary”
    “remind our pale hearts how to beat ”
    “and insensate as hoof strike”
    “brave multiples of empty”

    Brava!

    Liked by 1 person

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  13. This is just sublime, Worms. You encapsulate emotions so well. Love these lines particularly:

    “gibbous as moons”

    “and we’re headlong like pitchforks”

    “…night’s a dome
    we’re not ready for such a stand-up sky.”

    “street lights’ yellow ache”

    “brave multiples of empty”

    Liked by 1 person

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