I couldn’t tell
if that was her voice,
or a wasp on the front porch
anon -
this is a poem after all -
the muttering started up
he doesn’t see what I do all day
she will get to it soon, don’t bother
his back sweaty, her
shoes torn up by rehomed dogs,
do-gooders to a fault
air: sodden with expectations
dogs: impatient and demanding underfoot
man and wife: wondering why
to resent
or to be the resented
that is the question
I busy myself with an unnecessary task involving a pillow and a sham
a task as unnecessary as many of theirs
alone in my room, muttering haiku to myself
one sister trying not to witness
the other’s self-sabotage
This is my entry to The Blockchain Poets community for their August challenge. The prompt is chaos.
It's been a while since my last post. I just finished my first year of studies and exams to become a homeopath. It's been a lot! What better way to get back into the game than with a bleak poem?
I read, I got to the bottom and went back to read again. The last putting more understanding to the first, maybe just for me. :)
I love that photo, tree silhouettes and reflections. Very nice.
Why thank you for reading more than once! Yes, I thought the whole thing needed a tiny bit in the way of explanation to become more clear.
So good to see you back, writing such wonderful poetry.
I've missed reading your words, the way in which you witness life.
Marriage, I've no experience of that, but I do have experience of people drifting away, which you captured so well here xx
Thank you. It's nice to be back, I hope I can be here more often now that my classes are over. It's been a lot of work!!! The good kind of work, very compelling.
Is it bleak? Oh dear...I see it as real. All too real. Echoes of lives I've witnessed. Truths we are afraid to speak. Keep our head up. Mind our own business.
⭐️
It's funny how you picked out the word sodden. I think that line was the one that I changed the most often, worked on the longest. My work paid off!
All too real indeed. I was very careful to not get dragged into their morass, even though they both tried. This was while they were packing up their car for a long drive home after a two week working "vacation." I helped until it got way too sodden for my taste and, I thought, emotional/social safety.
Indeed it paid off. I don't like commenting on poems, because they are so personal to the poet. Intention doesn't easily translate to the reader. But that line...
The imagery about the dogs and the expectations really paints the scene, reminded me of afternoons when everything felt tangled yet ordinary
Tangled is such a good word for how this afternoon was going. As well as ordinary, unfortunately. Thanks for your comment!
A good exposition and nice concept. Good to be back. You are welcome.
Thank you. I hope to have more time to post now.
Welcome back, I hope you stay. As for your poem, well said, I can say I have been there.
I'm glad you could relate to it. It's probably a situation many of us have found ourselves in.
Yes, we are human, that is all I can say about it.
Yeah, we do make some silly mistakes when it comes to those closest to us, mostly misinterpreting them in some way.
This poem itself is chaos. I wouldn't say bleak, but you expressed how chaotic the situation feels. Welldone! Welcome back
Thank you!
Greetings @owasco ,
Lovely....Lovely poem. How you have captured with such apt, fitting words an ordinary afternoon....like a fly on the wall who is observant of mankind in his raw state.
Reminding Bleujay of a Principle...'Man is never satisfied.' referring here to Mankind in general. If we know this about ourselves and others...we can perhaps lower our expectations....a lot of ifs. ^__^
Thank you for post this lovely slice of life.
Kind Regards,
Bleujay
Why thank you for your appreciation of it!
Man is greedy, always wanting something more, faster, bigger, brighter. Never satisfied yes, in a self-imposed and perpetual state of semi-sadness.
It all started with that first haiku, mistaking my sister for a wasp on the front porch. I thought about publishing only that.
And that would have been enough as well.....so much to think on.
Like what is one's frequency? came to mind. Interesting... The Haiku....Those words provoked that thought.
Back in the day....early Steem days...I only posted the Principle.....then after several suggested Photographs....then came Photographs.....and then pressure from TPTB then came commentary....^__^
However for me a few words to think on....or even one is the highpoint of experience.
How were you pressured by tptb to say more than you felt the need to?
Your posts are like getting a single piece of really fine chocolate in the mail. We readers live in the sublime.
Hehe...a long time ago in a far away land...Steem....in the year 2019.
Drama was at it's height.....There were arguments within the witness community that spilled over to the Community at large...with loads of posts taking sides of all kinds of issues and down votes galore. Users were being disappeared, witnesses were leaving or being disappeared and in the fall out....loads of users left....including Bleujay. My thought was to quietly leave before losing my reputation score in case I was downvoted....due to low word count....or not approved subject matter. It was a crazy time.
....Then Hive came on the scene.
Bleujay returned in April of 2024.
To this day there are those communities and even individuals that require a word count to their satisfaction in order to receive a vote. Which of course is perfectly fine really....one at least has the freedom to decide whether to accommodate or not.
Thank you for your kind query, Bleujay
BTW ...Such a lovely photograph of the trees and reflections....Well done!
Ah, I hadn't realized you were newly back when I first came across your account. I don't go hunting for new accounts to follow, but do look at the posts that my followeds reblog. I wonder, now, who reblogged that first post of yours that I saw.
Using word count to determine value is a great example of humans being capriciously greedy for more. They don't have the capacity to see the simplest of things.
I can't complain that tptb dragged more out of you. I wonder what would happen here if you posted only your principle. I think you would need at least a photo for us to be left alone with your thoughts.
Oh so true....I should have added that it has all turned out for the best....I have learned many new things in order to market my core interests....make sense. ^__^
There are many from the early days who could have reblogged my post and still do....very kind of them....happy to hear that is how you discovered Bleujay. I am always grateful for reblogs.
This one is heavy! I like how at first it seems oblique, and then all comes into focus. That's how it worked for me anyway.
to resent, or to be the resented, that is the question
That line can sometimes sum up relationships to a "T". This is a great one with a lot of layers. Great to see you writing again!
Thank you Eric! I have a bit of a breather before the next semester starts, and sure hope to get writing a bit more, and getting caught up! I have reading all seven installments of your story on my to-do list.
I love that it became clear at the end. I like to think that I captured an ambiance in very few words. It seems I may have pulled it off.
You're welcome! That seven is soon to be eight. : ) I've been working on the next chapter here and there but we were down at the Mayo last week. It gelled for me completely at the end. That's a challenge to convey the message when you begin to condense the words—but fun and great practice. I really enjoyed it.
That line caught my eye too!
And "sodden" -
And the wasp -
Every line, every word, creates an impact. I love this:
shoes torn up by rehomed dogs,
do-gooders to a fault
Just - all of it. Not bleak. Brilliant. :)
A new poem!! YAY!!!
alone in my room, muttering haiku to myself
That one cracks me up---clever and poignant.
Congratulations on finishing your first year of studies and exams to become a homeopath!!
The world needs more healers like you. And more poets. :) And more of your poems. :)
The marital conflicts hinted at in these verses -
A certain ex-husband came to mind when I read today that a beloved public figure, adored and esteemed by millions, demonized his wife -- and everyone thought SHE was the problem.
Charles Dickens was a jerk… who knew?
https://www.charlesdickensinfo.com/life/marriage/
She really was strong! I never heard that story. I'd bought the story that David Copperfield was supposed to have been loosely based on Dicken's life. What a sham.
Yeah, my hubby demonized me. It was interesting to see how easily supposedly liberated women believed him. He was dying, so I looked the other way for the most part. He and I had moments like these in my poem as well but, instead of both of us working our butts off to get the family and dogs in the car for a long road trip, he did nothing but set lights on the timers, and he frustratingly waited until every single other thing was done before he did even that much. We'd be waiting for him out by the packed car. But I was the lazy and dull one. I wonder how many marriages have this aspect. Good for Catherine! And as much as I love reading Dickens, now my stomach has been turned. How easy that was!!! Dear me, are we all the same?
I have to wonder how many WOMEN are evil, manipulative, scheming, grasping, greedy, and awful to their husbands. Like, all those bleached-blonde bimbos that the narcissist men dump their wives for - come on, do these young women really believe you're so hot and so desirable, or do you just have MONEY, dude.... or power, or perks and favors and strings to pull.
Some years ago, a local woman drove to her husband's apartment (they were separated) and caught his mistress slipping out fast. She claims he threatened her, and the paring knife she grabbed to get him to stop advancing just... slipped! ... and she didn't intend to stab him in the heart with it.
She served a few years in prison, and got out on good behavior.
Was he really threatening her, or was she just sick of all his lies....
Wife says cheating husband walked into knife
There was no question that the weapon, a common kitchen paring knife with a short blade, was in Phyllis Nelson's hand.
The matter before the court was what was in Phyllis' mind when the stabbing occurred.
She'd pleaded not guilty, claiming it was an accident.
She said she'd held the blade straight in front of her in a posture of self-defense when she rounded a blind corner and her furious husband walked right into the blade....
.... Sleeping with the secretary resulted in a sharp career setback for the previously impeccable Dr. Richard Nelson, the man many at the medical school referred to as "their moral compass." Those compromising snapshots resulted in a letter of reprimand in his official file and the loss of some $30,000 from his paycheck that year.
.... After serving three and half years in an Iowa woman's prison, Phyllis Nelson walked free, released to her friends who'd stood by her all the while... she was paroled to Illinois, where she is said to be living near family. She'll remain on parole until her sentence is complete in September 2007.