Into Success #54 and Far Beyond #55

54

Into Success

She walked into success

With four-inch heels

And dusty-rose linen suit. 

Her smile flashed with confidence

Showering the crowded room

Doubt left at the sliding glass door 

“Sweet” described her weekly stats

Earned with forceful charm

Familiarity the winning edge 

Heights encourage depths

Obtained easiest by overreach

Far beyond the

elusive brassy ring.

 

Success followed by regress does not a failure make. Every experience is a rung up the ladder, heading toward the next goal.

*****     *****     *****

55

Far, Far Beyond

 

Encouraged to walk

You stood and crossed

The room 

Continuing far, far beyond

Until hands

Steered you to safety

Tempting with strange noises,

Very loud 

Your lips quivered

Searching for a promise

Sweetly warm

 

Discouraged, you sat

Garnering attention anew 

Lesson learned

You rose on wobbly feet

A toddler, at last.

 

Each of the linking poems receives its title from the final words of the previous poem. The fun of forming a poem based on this new title is that you never know what to expect until the words actually reach the page. Even then, the idea often veers into unexpected territory. This poem is a good example of such a twist. For those who first think the person encouraged to walk is elderly, the ending is a pleasant surprise that conjures up memories of ones self, or of children and grandchildren taking their first steps.

MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS
photo by: lakotawestband.ord

 

 

 

*****     *****     *****

 

THE SUPERNATURAL and BEYOND WORDS Poems #42-43

42

The Supernatural 

Speaking in tongues

Searching for inspiration

Hands grasping,

Minds laid bare 

Enlightenment nearing fingertips

Yet always just beyond reach

The brass ring,

Unattainable 

The elusive transformation

From human to divine,

Is unfathomable, far

Beyond ability

 

When it becomes accepted belief that it is possible to alter God’s creation to reflect something of man’s own invention, thereby making man (woman) appear all powerful, then not only the molecules of thought are rearranged, but also the raw materials of the soul. This is not about cloning, Hitler’s regime, or IVF, but about the dangers inherent in my own inflated ego.

 

*****     *****

43

Beyond Words

 

 

There are words

I want to build on

And to use as titles

Of poems. Phrases with meaning: 

 

Rendering a Thought Visible

Or

Attempt at the Impossible

 

But my page is blank

Not barren, only empty.

As the leaves of autumn

Shrivel and blow away,

So has my inspiration.

 

Leaving behind only

Possibilities.

 

Inspired by the works of Belgian artist René Magritte and an essay by Marcel Paquet: The Enigma of Poetry.