Tuesday, July 18, 2006

XX - Burning Brightly



Burning Brightly

We present a skin unto the world
That protects us from harsh exposure
But all the while beneath the layers
An inner fire is burning brightly
And throws long shadows of the players
Dancing around the warm enclosure
An inner pageant, tightly furled.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery
---
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19 comments:

  1. /bark bark bark

    i put down my brown
    on the day it was agreed
    im a stand-up hound
    fidelity indeed!

    /grrrrrrrrr

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  2. yes, the poem is lovely, of course, as is the photo..

    I can't help myself though. I see a sliced onion, read layers and think Shrek. I have kidses you know.
    ..and I do know those are not the sentiments you are expressing.
    oh, cursed pop culture at times..

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  3. If only we could remember this simple truth in times of conflict.

    If only we could remember this simple truth before we plan retaliation.

    It might be a better world.

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  4. amazing photo as well as poetic imagery.

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  5. My heart be still.
    I am loving red onion in everything lately!
    Did you ever read the odes that Pablo Neruda wrote?

    I enjoyed the last line very much..."an inner pageant..."

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  6. this is precise, exact,and lovely.

    although the first few lines are border cliche, the last three are excellent.

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  7. Thank you Bird, I am, as your tern gaze has discerned, not a trained or particularly modern poet.

    Just someone willing to mess around with words and form for a little pleasure; mostly mine. If for others too, then it is a bonus. I did not know if this oniony format would work; perhaps it just needs work.

    But not today.

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  8. well, i have just taken a quick fly by through some of your past posts....

    i am not accustomed to your style - but i keep reading...

    and...

    the reading makes me want to write. i've been fussing with some words off and on for a bit - not happy with the work.

    now i will start again - your work has primed the pump.

    regards.

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  9. Thank you , that is a lovely compliment. My time on this planet has not been wasted.

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  10. Good evening. I hope you don't mind the intrusion or the comment, but I find my way here by way of an invite to The Duel. I am Lady Wordsmith, both in name and trade.

    Coupled together, your photo and poem call to my mind the name of another lady wordsmith. Perhaps you know her? Ms. Erica Jong.

    You may want to look for her book "Fruits & Vegetables" and the poem you called to mind, which begins with:

    "I am thinking of the onion again, with its two O mouths,
    like the gaping holes in nobody..."

    Luvely imagery you give us. Luverly indeed.

    With hopes that my return will be well-received. Respectfully yours,
    ~Lady

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  11. Thank you Lady Wordsmith; I know of the lady but only by reputation. I will see if the library can assist me with her book.

    Rest assured that you are most welcome here, as everyone is if they behave themselves and play nicely with each other.

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  12. Wonderful poem. Reminds me of so much: the warmth of the crumudgeon, whose exoskeleton exists only because he is vulnerable inside; the icy blondes of Hitchcock movies; the depth of feeling and meaning buried inside cold academic texts.

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  13. Beauty...in all of your words :)
    (onions make me cry!)

    You don't know what comfort I took in your poems over the last few days...

    Thank you for making me feel special :)

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  14. your words bring me to a halt...make me ponder....make me rest...

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  15. Life is like an onion, there are many layers, and some make us cry......but still, I like onions.

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  16. A worthy accompaniment to Tennyson's 'Lady of Shallot'

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  17. AnonymousJuly 28, 2006

    Tee hee!

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