Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Pictures of Patience (Poem)

Pictures of Patience

I 

Fingers lace
a human bandage 
to hide the blues
and yellowed purples
committed to cover
biding the clock's
sweeping hands
the tapping gently
9 - 1 - 1


II

When you're hungry
listening
takes fearsome patience
a coyote's dirt-scraped crouch
the rotation of
owl-eyed gestures
the snap-to
of a rattler
seconds before striking


III

Patience
be luck's meter
the day after the day after  
depending on the cards
falling just so


IV

Numerals on a forearm
do not shift with time
the way memory
unhinges with a drag 
in the story's telling

The virtue is 
not in the suffering endured
but in the faith 
unrocked

Copyright © 2010 Maureen E. Doallas. All Rights Reserved.

This series is my contribution to today's Blog Carnival for which the one-word prompt is "patience". A bi-weekly event open to anyone, the Blog Carnival is sponsored by Bridget Chumbley of One Word at a Time and Peter Pollock of Rediscovering the Church. For a list of links to all of today's contributors to today's carnival, go here.
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17 comments:

  1. GlynnFebruary 9, 2010 at 7:33 AM

    Five examples, five pictures of patience, all wrapped up in one beautiful poem.

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  2. LorrieFebruary 9, 2010 at 7:44 AM

    Oooops, I missed this one!! Very pleased to read your contribution though.. I like it VERY much :-)

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  3. Kelly SauerFebruary 9, 2010 at 8:19 AM

    this is seriously beautiful. I love this collection...

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  4. Louise GallagherFebruary 9, 2010 at 8:42 AM

    Powerful stuff!

    The last to paras are stunning.

    Thanks Maureen.

    'faith unrocked'

    WoW!

    Louise

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2010 at 10:01 AM

    i can see the pictures

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  6. katdishFebruary 9, 2010 at 11:16 AM

    Sheesh! That's pretty wild how we sort of went in the same direction, because I thought surely I would be the only person to go there. Very powerful words, Maureen.

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  7. Bonnie GrayFebruary 9, 2010 at 11:40 AM

    Wow - that first stanza startled me!

    "When you're hungry
    listening
    takes fearsome patience"

    I can't even say how good this is, Maureen. Your words said it all.

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  8. sarahFebruary 9, 2010 at 12:28 PM

    Great! I so much enjoyed reading these.

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  9. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2010 at 1:33 PM

    Maureen - these are serious poetry. (Not sure if my grammar was correct just then...) But, really, these are incredibly potent. Short, terse verses punched with a wallop of meaning and imagery. Especially, this: "numerals do not shift with time the way memory unhinges with a drag." O M G
    And I, too, am a really bad listener when I'm hungry.

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  10. Kathleen OverbyFebruary 9, 2010 at 2:04 PM

    Aahh, Maureen. Trying to comment would be like turning on the radio after being to an opera. All I can do is clap my hands sore...

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  11. L.L. BarkatFebruary 9, 2010 at 2:05 PM

    "the snap-to
    of a rattler"

    Great sound. I feel it in my emotions too.

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  12. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2010 at 2:08 PM

    Maureen, that first one really struck me! These are all great examples... thank you.

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  13. S. EtoleFebruary 9, 2010 at 3:20 PM

    I especially like the last one ...

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  14. Anne Lang BundyFebruary 9, 2010 at 5:23 PM

    The virtue is
    not in the suffering endured
    but in the faith
    unrocked

    Beautifully poignant description of what patience should be!

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  15. Dianna WoolleyFebruary 9, 2010 at 10:43 PM

    I may have to enter this "world" - your verses are habit forming. Each invites you to read on:)

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  16. Rich DixonFebruary 10, 2010 at 9:35 AM

    The virtue is not in the suffering...but in the faith.

    Wow.

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  17. human aboutFebruary 28, 2010 at 7:19 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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