Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sunday Morning Poetry



The words came without their numbers.
At first they came in pairs
like animals onto the ark.
Tangerine came with hustle
splendor with taboo.
Some made a little electrical ping
when they touched the ground.

They hadn't been uttered
and were all still shiny and intact.
Nothing had been broken by them yet.

Birds draped words over their bodies
like starts of Bethlehem,
saffron celestial surge surrender
Their colors were so bright no one,
had anyone been present,
could have looked at them directly.
As if they'd just come from the sun.
I would be as ignorant as the dawn.
Words like this kept falling from somewhere.

Not like rain, though it was raining,
      kangaroo flame
      phosphorescent spin
words came and wouldn't stop coming,
      imbue terrestrial seed soon

in a rush
in wildest light
that first
wet morning.
~ Susan G. Wooldridge

The poem above is from the book Foolsgold by Susan G. Wooldridge.  I took the photograph of the painting above at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas; A Scheme in Red and Grays by Robert Frederick Blum 

10 comments:

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

-smile- This poem reminds me of something on one of those scientific tv channels... Can't remember the technical name but...

This woman experienced her senses, with more than one. She would experience the word 'coffee,' by hearing it, and by seeing colors. Etc.

Or something like that.......

Peter: You're a good guy.
Lincoln: Yeah. I'm a good guy.

(quote from "Fringe" dialogue)

S. Etole said...

Wonderful word associations in this.

Claire said...

This gave me an attack of the happy sighs. Thank you.

Marilyn Miller said...

Wonderful images of saffron and tangerines. I can just imagine them in the dawn and through the sunshine.

Happy Sunday!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous poem, thanks Relyn! ("Auntie sezzz..." is 'synaesthesia' the word you're looking for? If so, I quite agree!)

Tracy said...

This was wonderful reading, and I don't recall having come across this one before. Thank you, Relyn :o) ((HUGS))

Amy said...

Obviously, being about words and all, I loved it! :)

Jennifer Richardson said...

mmmmmmm.....delicious
word soup,
juuuuuuust right:)
-Jennifer

Scrappy Grams said...

love this poem and the photo of the gorgeous painting! I also love Claire's description "attack of the sighs"!

Denise | Chez Danisse said...

Oh, lovely. Thank you. It's so nice an peaceful here...

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