“Saw a poem float by just beneath the surface.”
– Jim Harrison
Listening
to Nancy Wilson Portrait
on the jazz station – hypnotic
bass backing trumpet, piano.
Reflecting
on Hardy’s The Self-Unseeing, faint
pencil marks on the page,
my eyes have worn
the ink faint –
this small
three quatrain piece.
I consider again the magic. Here
is a slow-simmering, steady
build-up –
how beautiful the scene,
family in the drawing room, warm
fire; father, mother, child.
The payoff is the final line.
Not so easy as it looks;
nor so difficult.
Then, not knowing
I’d cast
I pull quickly,
set the hook, begin
the work of landing it.
* * *
Day 24 of Jilly’s “28 Days of Unreason” challenge.
“We all know that Art is not truth.
Art is a lie that makes us realize truth,
at least the truth that is given us to understand.
The artist must know the manner whereby
to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.”
― Pablo Picasso
Life in Portofino 
I like the quiet rumination, and then the sudden action. Nicely done.
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Thank you, Sarah!
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Beautiful! Builds quietly, and then the literal (literally) setting of the hook. “my eyes have worn the ink faint” is terrific.
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Thank you, Randall!
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The Hardy poem is certainly one worth examining – good choice! Not as easy nor as hard as it looks, and all with the backdrop of jazz. Best line: not knowing I’d cast. One must work a poem like that one as you do a fish on the line. Nice job!
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Thank you for your inciteful take on my poem! It isn’t exactly what I had in mind while writing it… but that happens! In your case, you’ve added a valid perspective to the reeling in. It makes me feel as though I am a better poet than I realize! 🙂 Thanks Jilly!
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