Don't Give Up too Soon

"having fun, in a Ashbery sort of way"

Here’s a broom, 

a thought 

and a wake of crumbs to follow along the way … 

to Tipperary. 

O’ Temporary. And here I thought 

I was writing the period 

on a clinching sentence. 

O’ well. There’s always tomorrow, 

so don’t give up too soon --

we might get this right 

yet. There’s only so many possibilities, 

and we’ve exhausted most of them.

The recurring tragedy I feel 

is never the returning 

to old haunts, or 

being reminded of peculiar faults --

there’s only so much good fortune 

to pass around --

but how we’re able to perjure ourselves 

without ever having to remember our lines 

is an indicative of how little the gospels matter.

Sour grapes it seems still make for a passable whine. 

Ken e Bujold

Reviews

[Dave Brown]

Sour grapes make for a passable whine!
fortunately you didn't give up, or this little beauty may never have been written down

[Betty Hermelee]

Conversing with another about how difficult it is to get things right, as in writing…..one must keep trying, don’t give up, just because you are unsatisfied …. Keep on it.. and don’t go back to your old haunts…. Better to look ahead and remember it’s just a temporary block…we all have faults, that the way of life.
Best, B

[Red Brick Keshner]

Cheering squads are not what we really need but a real honest back and forth of every tone and tint would bring back equilibrium to a momentary imbalance. Healthy self deprecation aids as well.

[Coyote Poetry]

Honest and strong thoughts shared Ken. I feel life is a never-ending dance for us to know peace. Maybe we can't ever find peace. Maybe greed? Outstanding poetry. You make the reader ponder many things.
Coyote

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I like the flow of this, much like one person just having a normal conversation with another. For some reason, this reminded me of Charles Bukowski's, "So You Want To Be A Writer?"

"if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don't do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don't do it.
if you're doing it for money or
fame,
don't do it.
if you're doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don't do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don't do it.
if it's hard work just thinking about doing it,
don't do it.
if you're trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.

if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you're not ready.

don't be like so many writers,
don't be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don't be dull and boring and
pretentious, don't be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don't add to that.
don't do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don't do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was."

I think we have all struggled at one time or another, wanting to write, with our minds empty. It's those moments when I have learned that, sometimes, we just don't have anything to say. Sometimes, we just need the silence.

A sense of humor helps to while away the time.

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for great review Linda. CB linkage is an interesting one. I am a fan of his, though this one was composed after an afternoon of reading John Asbery. I have always admired how he so seamlessly manages to drift from thought to thought never really seeming to care if they all stitch together in the end. You are right in your assessment that this was a stream of consciousness. Personally, my fav bit is the Tipperary to O' Temporary.

ken

[willweb]

You had me at "passable whine" though I do realize that was at the end of the poem. So, I read it again just for good measure. : )

[Ken e Bujold]

careful will, too much whine early in the day can lead to late nights of debauchery

[Chris Shaw]

A fun write Ken and that final line rounds the poem off perfectly with a bit of humour. Can’t say I know Ashbery though. Maybe he is American.

Chris

[Ken e Bujold]

look him up chris. John Asbery is one, if not the most fun of 2nd half 20th century US poets. his sense of word play, how poetry should be fun, an ever shifting sense of the senses is very much worth any readers time

[Chris Shaw]

Thanks. I’ll go find him :)

[W. Barrett Munn]

This is very much in the Ashes wheelhouse and a treat to read. Kudos kind sir.

Winston

[AYVID N]

Great humour served with good wisdom. Gospels matter little, indeed. The concluding line is brilliant. I had such fun reading this refreshing poem.

[Ken e Bujold]

glad you enjoyed the wine DIVYA

[AYVID N]

I did, indeed. *smiles*