staring at a dry-erase board
and I realize there are no dry erases in life
in fact they're usually sopping wet with tears
a clean cut too does not exist
when life cuts there are often
rough edges
hanging seams
and strings attached
in fact the chef's knife is so dull
it often takes ages to cut at all
it is not easy to simply grab a slice of life
its like scooping cherry crumble
too much crumble not enough cherry
you never get as much as you wanted
what you do get consists of short-lived fragments
but we must convince ourselves that we're full
knowing that in a couple of hours
we'll have to eat again
Nika... We never get as much as we want..... We get only fragments..... that's life! Though we are never full, we have to convince ourselves that we are full...! I agree with Tony Walton... you have a unique style, so original and hard to imitate! !
I think the key lines appear at the end, namely, you never get as much as you wanted... but we must convince ourselves that we're full. That first sentence highlights what you called earlier the human condition, that is, our desires ALWAYS exceed what we actually get; the second sentence provides a sort of solution, that is, train your mind to be satisfied with partial satisfaction. The last two lines show this partial solution is only temporary. For a poem which begins with ONLY a slice of life, it concludes with a view of all of life. It's hard to articulate the poem in a prose comment. And the poem itself communicates the message. It doesn't need an explanation.
Nika, hanging seems...i think you 'want' seams, not seems. ;) this poem seems a bit pessimistic, but that, unfortunately is what life sometimes 'makes' us feel. it should be helpful to take the attitude mentioned: we must convince ourselves that we're full knowing that in a couple of hours we'll have to eat again and remember that people take longer than one or two days to starve to death; a fast, now and then, shouldn't be too harmful! i've found that ice cream can make the overabundance of 'crumble' and under-abundance of cherry bearable. using PH is one of my ice creams. who IS the chef? fate? luck? God? our own selves? hmmmm. i almost never referr to myself as being happy. it is not that i consider myself particularly unhappy, but i prefer to say i am (usually) content (enough to keep on going) . thanks for sharing. :) bri
A beautiful poem entitled, 'Slice of life'. Loved reading it.
You deserve a lot more cherries in your crumble. Pessimistic but very real. Like it. By the way cherry crumble is one of my favourites. Will take own advice and put more cherries in. You do the same! Tom Billsborough
Life can be dull or full of surprises. Variety is the spice of life as long as we keep it within boundaries. Eat and be merry!
oops, read and commented already. i must like the title, though it didn't sound too familiar. getting old, ya know! bri :)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Good poem Nika. You are developing your own unique style - it's nicely layered and complex.