Sunday, April 18, 2010

A Hand . . . Is (Poems)

A Hand a Thing of Beauty Is

I

A hand a thing of beauty
is that slipped across a cheek
might tender joy for ever

II

Divine the mapping
of a hand slipping tender
from sleep's deep hollow
across a cheek unblushing
joy for ever colored I


© 2010 Maureen E. Doallas. All Rights Reserved.

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I wrote these poems for Carry on Tuesday's prompt for April 20: to use the opening line of John Keats' "A Thing of Beauty" — "a thing of beauty is a joy for ever" — wholly or partly in an original poem or prose piece. Links to contributions for all of the participants in Carry on Tuesday #49 are here.

It has been many years since I have tried writing to any forms other than haiku. For this prompt, inspired by my friend Rob Kistner, who has been writing several poems a day for National Poetry Month, I decided to try my hand at writing a tanka, a five-line form that requires that lines 1 and 3 have five syllables each and that lines 2, 4, and 5 have seven syllables each. The result is my "II" above.

19 comments:

Cassandra Frear said...

A thing of beauty it is.

Anonymous said...

this is joy to read.

Glynn said...

These remind me of another poem - Ode on a Grcian urn -- that fine delicacy, almost like porcelain.

Name: Roberta said...

I like this Maureen! I've had hands on my mind lately, so this caught my attention! I've been collecting hand photos for a video and promotional brochures for our upcoming Fund Appeal for the major renovations soon to be happening at our Church. I have all kinds of hands in ministry pics! It's been fun.

sarah said...

i agree with glynn - these are very delicate. lovely :-)

Robin Arnold said...

Read backwards it's nice too. Not sure why I tried. Mentioning form and rules probably made me instinctively rebel.

gautami tripathy said...

Tender touches!

a blow

Helen said...

Very beautiful.

S. Etole said...

a gentle reminder of the hands of healing that have been involved in my life in one form or another ..

Kathleen Overby said...

Sometimes my comments don't show up for some reason. I came back to visit to read what others had said. It is amazing the different forms I knew nothing about. Hands are healing Susan.

Janet said...

lovely wanderings :-)

George S Batty said...

Old Grizz admires your ability to write either style You are very good at it.

riffscookie said...

beautiful!

Whitesnake said...

I .........LOVE IT!

Louise said...

Lovely ~ 'might tender joy for ever'

Unknown said...

Maureen,
You've taken the mundane and focused on it's true essence. We should so appreciate it all.

Laurie Kolp said...

A lovely poem... thanks for sharing!

Beachanny said...

They say hands are the most difficult things to draw. Unique to each individual the art of it is tedious, detailed, and demands strict observation. I think the hands your words drew overcame all obstacles and the piece soars with joy and beauty.

Brian Miller said...

nice. i find hands themselves to be so evocative...this is a well refined piece...