Sunday, March 24, 2013

Behind (Poem)


Rene Magritte, Not To Be Reproduced, 1937
Oil on Canvas, 81.3 cm x 65 cm
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Image Provided Courtesy Magpie Tales


Behind

The story behind the story
is the art

of the fiction
that what is

is not,
or could be, depending

on where you stand —
behind bars,

or in the glare,
behind the curve

or just behind the times.

Examine the back-
ground closely, look

carefully to see who is
behind you,

who cannot keep
up, who goes

behind the scenes
behind your back

and lies;

who, wet behind
the ears, learns not

to hang behind,
how, coming from

behind with one arm
tied behind your back,

you trail behind; why
putting the past behind

you sometimes
is all you need to do

to get out from
behind the eightball.

© 2013 Maureen E. Doallas
___________________________________

This poem is offered for today's photo prompt at Tess Kincaid's Magpie Tales (see image above). Go here to read other writers' responses to the prompt or to drop a link to your own contribution.

7 comments:

Ginny Brannan said...

Wow, nicely penned. Enjoyed the reflections all coming from "behind." Clever write.

Kathleen said...

Wow, neat poem. Love the first line and how it echoes the painting's dramatic visual. (And I love that you reproduced Not to Be Reproduced!)

Jinksy said...

A clever juggling of all shades of the idea 'behind'...Well done.

Helen said...

... very nice!!

Berowne said...

You chose a theme and you stuck with it - quite successfully. Excellent.

Ruth said...

It's fun to see these idioms in your poem and consider the range of meaning. I think different cultures view "behind" in even more ways, with spatial meanings we know nothing of.

Susan Anderson said...

Cleverly written. I enjoyed it!

=)