Saturday 28 November 2015

Little Pen


Before me: THE PAGE, bathed in pristine white glow … 
except for criss-crosses looped row upon row –

like tire tracks whaling on fresh fallen snow.

I think and I ponder … with all of my might.
I put pen to paper and write:  WRITE!!!  WRITE!!!  WRITE!!!

NOTHING:  not a thing … Well, maybe …… not quite ……

For then: like a torn seed pod drifts from a tree …
like a ship reaching port in a tempest tossed sea …

WORDS – start to light like a playhouse marquee!

My pen strokes catch fire and sail cross the sheet.
My narrative snatched from the jaws of defeat.

Little Pen … Little Pen … Thy Victory … Sweet

"The pen is mightier than the sword"
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1839 in the play, Richelieu

noteposted for Poets United.

Though my "Little Pen" took me in a "light" direction, I do believe that the pen is, indeed, mighty … the pen, I think (with the advent of modern technology) having become a metaphor for chronicling the truth, whether it be by ink, print, film, phone or The Arts.  Evil hides in darkness.  Only when injustices and atrocities are brought to the attention of people of conscience (and they are legion) can there be hope for change.

photo:  Tracks – W. Bourke

© 2015 Wendy Bourke

14 comments:

  1. I agree, Wendy. The pen is mighty indeed. Any victory, I believe, starts with the PEN!

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  2. I love the image of the torn seed pod drifting......I always wrote poetry with pens Back In the Day and it truly felt like there was a connection, brain to pen to paper.........my poems flowed more freely then. Now, I use a keyboard and it is more like taking dictation than creating.......very different. Just glad to be writing anything at all. I love how your Muse drifted over, like a little boat reaching port after a stormy crossing..........

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  3. I hope the pens are mightier, the words today can not be stopped. They exist inside computer clouds and multiples.. There is a certain friction using a pen ... But most important words are seeds of change.

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  4. love the image of a torn seed pod drifting from the tree and also the ship & sea image...words are just as magical...

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  5. This is delightful, each week I have this battle!

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  6. ah, i think it sometimes happens to us people who wants to write.
    may the pen triumph over the sword!
    love the rhymes in this catchy poem. :)

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  7. Love this... especially the reference to words like a playhouse marquee :D
    Beautifully executed.

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  8. Words are indeed mightier than most weapons - and even when they seem hard to find..still they come and rescue us...beautifully done!

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  9. My pen strokes catch fire and sail cross the sheet.
    My narrative snatched from the jaws of defeat.

    One can't imagine that difficult times need the necessary booster. Once provoked it can do wonders. Very true Wendy!


    Hank

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  10. Our pens seem to know our hearts--loved this Wendy!

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  11. I too like the image of that torn seed pod drifting. The pen still holds magic when it slides across the page leaving a message behind.

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  12. I adore the sound of these lines: 'For then: like a torn seed pod drifts from a tree …
    like a ship reaching port in a tempest tossed sea ' ~ stand up poem for read aloud.

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  13. I think I need your little pen right now. Can't seem to write anything these days.
    Enjoyed!!

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  14. I really like your rhyme, that last couplet and your final line! What a bright piece, Wendy!

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