Against The HourGlass

Her few words hung and
dripped like candle wax,
creating intricate patterns
upon long bouts of silence.

Speeches were useless-
unnecessary diatribes
filling uninhabited space,
overcrowding destitute minds.

She knew the value of a handful
of well-placed phrases,
each a puzzle piece, positioned correctly,
conveyed an abundance of meaning.

Brevity, for everything worthwhile
was paired against the hourglass,
leaving so little time to fritter away
just to hear the timbre of her own voice.

Reviews

[Kristin Lee]

What melencholy and yet such passion. This feels like the voice of depression. A dark passenger quietly taking the wheel. Your words flow beautifully together drawing the eyes towards the end. Though I am not one to read poetry out loud, it literally made me want to hear my own voice...just to make sure I still had one. Very well done.

[icelandicblue]

What a beautiful review. I am humbled by that.

[Frieda P]

Melancholy read, speaks volumes to me though, timing makes a difference, I know that one too well. Time is mostly 'puzzle pieces' indeed. You wrote it so well.

[icelandicblue]

Thanks Frieda,

You are right. Thanks for the read and comment.

[Frieda P]

Time tends to make me say 'if only' a lot...my pleasure blue.

[Sami Khalil]

I like the whole poem. A very good job...:)

[icelandicblue]

Thx!

[Sami Khalil]

My pleasure...:)

[Jack...]

She knew the value of a handful
of well-placed phrases,

And so do you my friend. This poem has value and speaks of time. yes time can be our enemy or time can our friend. Makes me think of a line in a Mike McClure song: "Time can be a teacher and a healer, so many things I've learned from time."

Wonderfully done my friend.

[icelandicblue]

Thank you Jack for the read and the comment.

[Aethereal]

Well said! That's how it is in a world where too much or too little of a good thing leads to failure. Timing and focus is everything. The images within your quatrains flow like water down a waterfall. What else may we ask of good poetry other than it provides us with flowing wisdom.

[icelandicblue]

Hello-
You are right, timing is everything! Thank you so much for that lovely review.

[Aethereal]

Thanks for sharing your poetry with me. I'll be back to read more.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

time is short...we have to use our words wisely...not only verbally in certain situations, but also in poetry...less is more...wise use of words works much better than "useless speeches and unnecessary diatribes" god, that's good..

terrific poem here.
says just enough to allow us to take our own paths down the lines.

[icelandicblue]

A well placed word speaks volumes. Thanks jacob, I always enjoy reading your reviews which are some of the best.

[diaphanous]

Your imagery is beautiful, I love the comparison of speech to candle wax. You have an amazing mix of meaning and vapidness in this piece.
"She knew the value of a handful
of well-placed phrases,
each a puzzle piece, positioned correctly,
conveyed an abundance of meaning."
I love it :)

[icelandicblue]

Thanks so much for your kind comment.

[Corset]

wow, I love this, firstly because of stanza one's visual of the candlewax creating filagree on silence, that impossible visual alone made this worth the reading time, she sounds amazing , self portrait perhaps :)

[icelandicblue]

Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I am happy that you like that image.

[Corset]

:)

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Wow, this was quite incredible. I have read through this, quickly, several times and I'm still digesting the images and the ideas.

Speeches were useless
unnecessary diatribes
filling uninhabited space

These lines really got to me. I felt the depth of your poetic soul right there in those words. Well done, my friend!

[icelandicblue]

You are fast! Thanks very much. I am happy that the poem had meaning for you.