Thursday, March 4, 2010

How Arguments Go (Poem)



How Arguments Go

I
Pieces never tell the whole story.
Safety glass still breaks;
it just doesn't shatter.

Heat escapes through clear glass,
its pattern unseen in fragments
but no less visible.

Opaque glass, 
like shades pulled against sun,
hides what most any fool can catch in light.

II
She's got her side. He has his.

Chipped words go air-borne
when thrown against the mirror.

Clean-up happens by fits and starts.

III
Cuts can be on the surface,
unremarked,
or slide slickly along fault lines.

Sometimes it takes a probe
and a camera's eye to show you
what you're looking for.

IV
Windows in wind rattle,
at night shadow

Roughed edges
slivers
the dog's bone half-consumed.

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

Image: "Shattered Glass"by Kathleen Overby. Used with permission.

7 comments:

Erin @ Together for Good said...

"safety glass still breaks/ it just doesn't shatter."

this brings to mind an experience I had a few months ago.

Your words are perfect.

Anonymous said...

Cuts can be on the surface,
unremarked,
or slide slickly along fault lines.

...i love this double meaning.

Kathleen Overby said...

Wow. Clink. What you see and say is profound and clear.

S. Etole said...

wish I didn't understand this so well ... {recipe is up now, too, if you'd like}

Billy Coffey said...

"Safety glass still breaks;
it just doesn't shatter."

The profundity of this made me smile. How true, and on so many levels.

Unknown said...

Maureen I am sorry to have missed this in the actual post. I have inserted it into the comments section.

Please forgive me.

You words move within me and take me into the very midst of past fights and arguments in my life.

The bone at the end is my favourite part.

It provokes thought, long after your words have ended.

SimplyDarlene said...

Chipped words go air-borne
when thrown against the mirror.

Oh, how do you write words that mean so many things, all at once? I chip him with my tongue lashings, but I really smash myself into pieces because I ultimately threw them at myself. Ugh.

Your words are very tangible.

Blessings.