I had some short stories, poems and photographs to share ... and so here I am

A Pause For A Poem

 
Photobucket

your skirt is
rippling, light
splashes of
hibiscus, our

fingers almost
touching, but
always those
damn circles.

a madman in
charge of
the pedal,
me unable

to stand to
reach you,
so wary of
past collisions.

the moribund
carousel is
speeding up,
heads rolling

back to our
torrid youth,
amid groans
of dizziness.



© Copyright, 2008. Seamus Kearney.

21 comments:

virtual nexus said...

The light splashes of hibiscus really catches the atmosphere and sets the scene beautifully. Powerful memories of Hull Fair - big traditional fairground - come flooding back for me.

Lane Mathias said...

Poignant and sad. That failure to reconnect is beautifully portrayed.
Lovely.

S. Kearney said...

Julie - Oh, I loved the fair grounds in England. Nothing beats them. :-)

Lane - Thank you. I've always thought that life is a great big merry-go-round. :-)

aims said...

Oh - I liked this very much.

S. Kearney said...

Aims - Thank you for your kind words. :-)

Marja said...

Great imagery and picture. I love old carousels In Holland we have a beautiful one in the efteling, a theme park. Hope to go there next year

S. Kearney said...

Marja - Thank you. I can't remember where I took this photo now ... it may've been in the south of France.

WH said...

Seamus, post more poetry! This was great, if a bit sad. The "light splashes of hibiscus" pulled me immediately and kept me the whole way through.

S. Kearney said...

Billy - Thanks. Yeah, I do the odd sad piece every now and then. It reminds me to appreciate the happy! :-)

Eric Valentine said...

I think we can all relate to the sad merry-go-round in our growing up Seamus..
How else would we learn ~ or do we.. :)

Very nice poem my friend.. :)

Unknown said...

I'm not sure why, but somehow this made me think of Hilaire Belloc's poem Tarantella - I think its your evocation of colour and movement that does it.

Beautifully done and captured, Seamus.

Saaleha said...

Lovely. Evocative. Btw, love the way you've set up the links to your other writing. I would never accomplish such a feat

S. Kearney said...

Eric - Thank you. But good not to have a madman in charge of the pedal! :-)

Absolute Vanilla - Thanks for your nice words. I don't remember now when I wrote that, but it was a while ago.

Saaleha - Thanks. Yes, I've had fun with those buttons! I figured it was a shame to have stuff lying around in the basement. :-)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful imagery. I've always been afraid of carousels and can vividly picture the "mad man at the pedal".

Chris Eldin said...

There is something catchy about your writing. I'm getting to know your style.
Very nice poetry!!

S. Kearney said...

Kat - Thank you. I'm glad the madman came through!

Christine - Thanks for your kind words. It's so nice to have people reading my stuff. :-)

Steve H said...

love it, especially the 'past collisions' line!!

S. Kearney said...

Hotwire - Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you liked it. And, ah, yes, those collisions we always try to avoid. :-)

Sarah Hina said...

This is spectacular, Seamus! Such a wonderful metaphor for our lack of control, and time's unceasing step. And I loved "a madman in charge of the pedal." It really seems that way at times.

Really enjoyed this one!

L.M.Noonan said...

Ooh I loved this, the brevity and the symbolism, but especially the pace.

S. Kearney said...

Sarah - Thank you. Yes, sometimes I would really love to be able to grab a hold of that madman and get him to ease up on the pedal! :-)

Loretta - Thank you. :-)