Monday, June 30, 2014

Trappings

The mermaid isn’t yours any more than
the wine rack or wicker ottoman are:
they were all here when you moved in.
If anything, you inherited her, like a stray scarf
or a forgotten book fused into the trappings of a home.


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26 comments:

  1. Oh, this is really fine. So many things you evoke here...belonging, stuff, other peoples' lives...

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    1. Exactly the things I wanted to evoke! Thanks for reading!

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  2. Really like this. It's evocative of a poem that is just beyond my reach right now…something about "She is no more mine than…" Oh I hate mornings before coffee. If I remember I'll let you know.

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  3. Great take on the prompt!

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  4. Yes, this was a wonderful interpretation of the prompt.
    The way it was phrased was what made it flow and make certain.."that's not yours."

    :)

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  5. Interesting what is left behind to be found by someone else. Nice take on the prompt.

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    1. Oh yes, this is actually a "true" poem. The family who lived in my apartment before we moved in left quite a few little surprises for us...we also have a miniature Thor figurine. (A possible suitor for the mermaid perhaps?)

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  6. This sounds like a very tense relationship, like it isn't just about the mermaid.

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    1. Hmmm....yes, I see some tension in there. Good catch!

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  7. I agree with cynk--this is not about the mermaid. There is a dangerous undertow in these waters!

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  8. This is yummy! I love the layers...

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  9. I love how you have used the singular word, "Trappings" as the title but have then gone on to round that out and fill that in with layers of what those trappings are.

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  10. Hmmm the very idea of inheriting a mermaid is intriguing. And the book is unsettling. Great piece!

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    1. You live with what you get, and sometimes it's a mermaid!

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  11. Wow. Such a smart take on the prompt, turning it around on itself. Funny how often we feel things are ours just by living with them for a while. Ownership is a weighty thing. Nicely done.

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    1. Very true. It's a kind of "love the one you're with" mentality for me.

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  12. I love how the poem reads (to me) as an argument in one's head. I'd love to know why the argument is being had; but I don't think it's necessary to enjoy your lovely word choices. Nice work!

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    1. Yes, I guess I was talking to myself when I wrote this...I'm not sure why the argument either, but I've been known to fight with myself over less. :)

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  13. There a lot of things I "inherited" that don't belong to me, either.

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    1. Oof. We could write a lot of poems on inheritance.

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