Far-fetched fires
nonetheless
they strike you
as you round the corner
unprepared for the stunning
atrocities of every lost moment
that a century of poets
could not name
Shift your coffee to the other hand
tip your head and watch the ashes
rising up
© Jilly’s All Rights Reserved
Jilly's 
I do not want to think about the ashes in that way… the form of your poem looks eerily like a bomb..
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No. Her poem IS the bomb! 🙂
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MAN, I love that last stanza. So much.
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Mucho thanks!
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The poets perspective, indeed. Switch that coffee cup to the other hand and observe.
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Familiar, isn’t it?
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Yes, indeed.
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Until I noticed the reference to coffee, it never occurred to me that it was a reference to a moment in everyday life
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Ah, then I did my poetic job by sliding the cup of coffee into the scene. Thanks, Larry.
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Wow Jilly, I love this! Although it does sound a little apocalyptic, it also seems a lot like a beautiful sunset, making me think that a lot of our big moments that have been bad, have also had a majesty, and a beauty.
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Thanks, Zoe! Indeed, they are like a sunset, both beautiful and brutal in what we let get by us.
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Love the apocalyptic feel to this! You make quite an impact with those closing lines… watch indeed.. sigh..
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The horses and riders are simply the words and moments we let get by us. Glad you stopped by.
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I love the idea of coming face-to-face with every missed poetic moment… every moment that defied the poet’s pen (I’m reading into this, I know!). Turn the ashes into art. Write with the blood of life, love, death, and apathy.
Stunning.
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Spot-on in your ‘reading into this’ Charley! Thank you for taking the time to see it all so clearly.
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I’m working on my ability to see beyond the words… to the unspoken of a poem.
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You are good at it, sir!
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I liked this line: “atrocities of every lost moment” It makes me not want to lose any moment.
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Exactly, Frank. Thanks for reading
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Indeed, a poet’s take. Lot more could have been written if observed …
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Thank you for reading. Lot more could have been written if it weren’t a quadrille!
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True..the arena of quadrille. And, as you rightly said….observe…shift the coffee to other hand and there we go writing more 🙂
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I love the indifference portrayed in your words. The shifing of the coffee is perfect! Could be a Klan cross burning in the Southern US!
dwight
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“that a century of poets
could not name”
Makes me feel a part of them when put this way – The use of the coffee brings it to a personal note and I like that.
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Thank you!
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I get a feeling of J. Alfred Prufrock in this, the every day moments of life, of letting them or not letting them slip past us
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Agreed!
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High praise, indeed. Thank you 🙂
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You are welcome.
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You’ve fired up my imagination!
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Frightening ashes drifting by as you look up. This sounds like an omen, but then, that simple gesture of shifting coffee to the other hand. Brilliant!
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OK, that’s all the way great.
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The every day moments and atrocities observed. The shifting of the coffee is brilliant.
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Thanks, Merril! And, hey, Congrats to you!
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Thank you very much, Jilly! 🙂
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Whoa, Jilly, so much power in this. Or maybe you’re illuminating the reality that poets can do nothing but watch and name, powerless to change those ashes floating by, yet with all the power in the world to give them meaning. And I love the literal shape of the fire poem too.
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Definitely food for thought … so well put: “atrocities of every lost moment that a century of poets could not name”
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Thank you, Janice.
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I like this a lot, Jilly. Even with all of our poetic powers put together, we cannot keep up to it all….but we try.
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Thank you!
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What a striking shape this poem has got. Shifting the mug to the other hand makes me think of a shift of perspectives — from the abstract, imaginative right-brainer to the logical, problem-solving left-brainer. The ashes rising … Hmm …
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Very perceptive, my friend!
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Thank you. 🙂
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When poets observe the world on the other end…everything becomes clear and poets need to express that feeling.
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And so we shall.
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🙂
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Prophetic in rhetorical power and sheer emotion! Glad to see your work again, Jilly! 🙂
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Thank you! Writing like crazy, just not posting very often. Sheer laziness 🙂
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😆 nah! Just writing in a different direction!
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