not inside the office cubicle
of cream & dull blue squares,
two metal drawers that grate
like heaving train on rail tracks --
not on laminated table
my cheap plastic pen and highlighter
scratching the file paper in neat circles
& lining details i can't missed as
fingers click & tap black keyboard --
i wonder of seeds & potted thoughts --
do they shoot up straight or go in pinwheel circles
or hang fragile on telephone wire, disconnected from
the main roots, crisscrossing fine lines
between adequacy & coping--
claim reports show mental illness
& depression tops the list of drugs
of working men & women -- i pencil
a line between insanity versus sanity --
as mine are nesting between recycled sheets,
unfinished verses tuck in leather handbag &
waiting in draft folder in laptop, labelled
personal life, threads and pieces flying
outside the clear office windows,
where endless lines of cars and trucks zoom
in staccato echoes in city streets, long &
winding towards the lake, a dot in dusty skyline
at 4:00 pm, time to drive for home,
i gather my winter coat & look for my thoughts --
they settle on my shoes,
the color of industrial carpet
Posted for: D'verse Poets Pub - Sweat the Small Stuff ~ hosted by Brian Miller
Shared with Poets United - Poetry Pantry
Thanks for the visit ~
i wonder of seeds & potted thoughts --
ReplyDeletedo they shoot up straight or go in pinwheel circles...nice...love how this stanza just pops as you change direction...drawing the line between insane and sane...cool touch...the thoughts on the shoe...and then the carpet is a great close as well grace...like it much...
Thanks Brian, the picture is an inspiration ~
Deleteand hey, great job at OLN this week!!!! smiles.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed it ~ Thanks ~
Deleteha - this is a neatly and skillfully painted scene...the daily grind via the poet's thoughts that fly free...thoughts that settle on the shoes, the color of industrial carpet...fantastic closure
ReplyDeleteYes, the daily grind of work versus poetic thoughts ~ Thanks Claudia ~
DeleteOh Grace today I wake up tired and sad (and still feel that) maybe my brain work to try the understand the NOBODY understand sigh!
ReplyDeleteSanity versus insanity.
This is a really good one Grace! x
Yes, sometimes the line between sanity and insanity seems to be very thin....especially in the light of some of the events of the world. Hope you DO have a good weekend, Grace.
ReplyDeleteGrace--yes, the lines thin and blur.
ReplyDeleteWonderful details to paint a scene of daily life and really gives the sense of your mind being elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI know offices like this too. You capture the patterns of life very well. I'm glad you write.
ReplyDeletegrace, this is wonderful. you really did go "all out" and nailed the prompt. hats off to you... this is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteCapture a day in the life with great descriptions too and even brought forth the shoe! Hope a great weekend is being had by you.
ReplyDeleteYou have mastered detailing to a 'T'...excellent write Grace.
ReplyDeleteJust wonderful, an excellent descriptive piece,it is a great photo for detail.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites of yours, Grace... especially like:
ReplyDeletei pencil
a line between insanity versus sanity --
as mine are nesting between recycled sheets,
This so wonderfully done :-). I love the imagery.
ReplyDeletefun imagination - dreaming of your garden as you tell the dull details of your office.
ReplyDeleteI actually have daydreamed of how to tell a story to make the dull office sparkle with fresh eyes. That would be tough -- still thinking.
I love the creative thoughts intruding into the workday, remind us that a poet, not just a "worker" is occupied here. Love the "thoughts....the color of industrial carpet." Oh for the days when poets had rich patrons and didnt have to work.
ReplyDeleteI loved the description you posted ... it felt as it was going before my eyes !!!
ReplyDeleteGrace i think you are way excellent doing poems like this, writing in details than in shortys... you should write more of this Poet... great...great job... smiles...
ReplyDeleteGrace i think you are way excellent doing poems like this, writing in details than in shortys... you should write more of this Poet... great...great job... smiles...
ReplyDeletego in pinwheel circles
ReplyDeleteor hang fragile on telephone wire, disconnected from
the main roots, crisscrossing fine lines
between adequacy & coping--
This really gets to the point, in my opinion.
excellent G
ReplyDeleteA very fine line between sanity and insanity, those pinwheel circles. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI like your closing lines in particular
ReplyDeleteHave a nice Sunday Grace!
ReplyDeleteI've been stuck in that daily grind... routine never really changing and pushing you closer to that line.
ReplyDeletedepressive greyness of working life
ReplyDeleteWow grace, I love this text.
ReplyDeleteJust an excellent write Grace--I loved this!
ReplyDeletewonderful stuff.i can well identify this entire trove of urban boredom, fatigue, alienation and dull mechanicality. vividly portrayed.
ReplyDeleteNesting thoughts flying thoughts - thoughts the color of industrial carpet settling - wonderful. k.
ReplyDeleteAnd one has to wonder, is the insanity the mundaneness or the creativity. I like how your poem turns on the third stanza. And the last line ...perfection.
ReplyDeleteFull of delectable images guaranteed to remind any former office worker how good it is to have retired. :)
ReplyDeletereally nice Grace. I really like the pace, the movement from thought to observation. Very nicely done. Thanks
ReplyDeleteGrace ... this is a really special poem. I am so toughed by the manner in which you speak of mental illness. I get the sense that everything here emanates from this line, that I love: "i wonder of seeds & potted thoughts" sort of the "root" of all.
ReplyDeletei really like the ending, Grace!
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a good week!
♥
This is such a beautiful piece of writing Grace! Seems that many of us experience the blur of
ReplyDeletesanity/insanity....one of the gifts of being a writer...also loved how you so eloquently captured the
dichotomy of work/creativity/balance.
Kudos... ;-D