Feng Shui of the Written Word

Well past midnight I close my eyes,
     and old terrors come to call,
An angel whispers in my ear
     as it flies past on ancient wings,
A melody echoes in my heart,
     or drops of dew fall from my hair
          splashing me with inspiration:
          a single word, a turn of phrase,
          some piece of spirit that calls out to be heard.

The words fit nicely
     into notches in my imagination
          where meaning lays itself bare.
I search with a musician’s ear
     for the one and only word
          that fits there,
The feng shui of the written word.

Years ago
poems spilled out
full of hormones and angst,
suffering and loss,
but now they move slowly,
they kick back and yawn their way out.
They laze in the back of my mind,
in an imaginary hammock
among tall pines in blue shaded mountains
and enjoy themselves,
each poem like contented, well kissed lips
     like warm chocolate covered cherries
          just waiting to be savored.

© 2007 C. Harter Amos

Reviews

[Bubo]

I love the way you have written this
the way we think about word s and writing,
all the emotions we use and draw on................and yes, as time
passes we grow as writers maybe because we are wiser and have
experienced more, and I love the imagary you created here

They laze in the back of my mind,
in an imaginary hammock
among tall pines in blue shaded mountains
and enjoy themselves,
each poem like contented, well kissed lips

Wonderful.............and yes, we read our words sometimes
and it brings so much satisfaction that we created it!

[Emily B]

Your words are always perfect, enveloping us in the strength of your character and experience. . . I don't know how I missed this. I thought I had read everything you ever posted. It's really lovely.

[Marie]

This was written very well. I love the flow and the way you've formatted it.

[Brette Medb]

the very end of this poem had so much imagery and human characteristics I loved it! I love how the poems yawn, kick back and relax, if only that is what I could do right now! there is no feng shui of words though, they all come out and settle in their place it is not our job to place them but to let the words choose their own place in this world. Nice write.


Brette

[TL Boehm]

incredible writing here - personifying the poem - I remember those angst ridden things I used to write....sigh. I still write them but hope for the gentler ones some day.
True brilliance in this one.

[Lydia Shutter]

"each poem like contented, well kissed lips
like warm chocolate covered cherries
just waiting to be savored. " Oh, what delicious imagery you have penned here. The best part is that I can totally relate to the words. Perhaps the poems are a bit reluctant to head for the finish line now, but they are so worthwhile when they get there. Wonderful work! Lydia

[Narnie]

I have read so much tonight about the joy of writing and it gives me so much pleasure to know that I am not alone... to know that others feel the wonder, as I do, that words bounding around our brain is a gift that we cherish. I love this poem... thank you so much for putting those words for us to read.

[David P. Eckert]

Poetry had an urgency when we were young. They

spilled out
full of hormones and angst,
suffering and loss,

And then we go through passages, we learn, we grow. We may let things go, let our words find their ways to us. We learn patience. I still wonder, though, if the urgency returns in a different way if we hear our clocks ticking. Very nicely done piece.

David

[Eric]

You, my friend, are a tremendous talent. And even if your poems yawn out, they still carry the potency of a pubescent teen. This is a poem I will savor.

[Taja B.]

This is a very nice poem. It's beautifully written and it describes the art of the written word quite nicely.Plus, the imagery makes the message of this poem even stronger.

Nice job. I really enjoyed this!

Thanks for sharing.:-)

[Janie Lee]

nice change in pace, nice