Sunday, February 09, 2014

680 : The Stream

Sunday Whirl (Wordle #147) presents a list of words
that we must incorporate in a writing piece.  

The words this week are:

gather, grasp, gutsy, routine, stream, body,
flow, invisible, pluck, list, ring, type


The Stream

[Narrator]
In the sprawling mess that is a city,
People gather like fish in schools
While we with an odd type of curiosity
And, invisible, peer into their limpid pools.
Watch the ebb and flow of daily bliss
See the humdrum routines and their ilk,
See her give the perfunctory kiss:

[Fish]
“And don’t forget to bring home some milk”.

[Narrator] 
But before he’s even left the street
She’s on her phone to ring a friend,
Though it’s really more of a passive bleat:

[Fish]
“Do you think this week will ever end?”

[Narrator]
In front of the mirror, a teenage girl:

[Fish]
“My body’s awful, gross and fat!”
I’m the most ugly creature in the world,
The magazines have told me that”.

[Narrator]
When dissatisfaction is on the run,
Parents are just like their teens.

[Fish]
“I think I’ll have a boob job done”

[Narrator]
Then just sit around their TV screens
Illuminated with a ghostly glow
They grasp the issue and freely scoff:

[Fish]
“I cannot stand the trash they show!”

[Narrator]
But don’t pluck up the will to turn it off.

[Fish]
“Next year’ll be different, just you wait!”
The opportunity will not be missed!”

[Narrator]
But when they’re pushed to the starters gate
They quickly abandon the resolutions list
In the dull comfort of daily routine
Few will fight to reach a dream.
There are no gutsy salmon to be seen;
The fish are all swimming down the stream.
 .
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2014
---

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26 comments:

  1. Such a sad lot we are. Like poor fish in a school, turning and swirling as one. Mindlessly.

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  2. Slim Rich and PaleFebruary 09, 2014

    You have depressed me so much with your impressive salmon poem. I will now sit down and eat a plate of butterfly cakes to cheer myself up which were bought for my childrens' latte babycinos afternoon tea party. Unfortunatey Cassie Clown the childrens party guru who lectures on the dangers of being poor or fat cannot make it this afternoon. I will now contemplate writing some upper middle class angst poetry and swim upstream ,by snorting some recreational cocaine or dropping a tab washed down with some Krug and derive inspiration from the latest Colette Dinnigan lacey 'must have' that is on sale for a mere $2000 .

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    Replies
    1. Butterfly cakes? Left overs?

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    2. Slim Rich and PaleFebruary 09, 2014

      We paid for English comprehension lessons for our cleaner. I suggest your employer do the same.

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    3. Fair call. But you waved butterfly cakes at him. A rash move, verging on the foolish. All synaptic dysfunction can be slated home to that ill-considered act. Back on you mat, Sancho.

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    4. It never hurts to ask.

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  3. This is incredibly clever!

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  4. This is so innovative! Great presentation, fantastic metaphor and your message packs a serious punch.

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  5. ah but if they all swam upstream, it wouldn't be special

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  6. So few of can see ourselves in this picture. Fish, fowl or foul himanity we are all the same!

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  7. Quriky and delightful - a wonderful piece :)

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  8. a rather sad state of the affairs of men...sometimes it seems like so few even realize they are fish because they are so busy trying to keep on swimming...

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  9. Oh dear...who then will lead us upward if everyone succumbs to the downstream pull.

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  10. They need to explain photoshop in the school so girls will understand these images are not real!

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  11. It is hard to strike out on your own..i guess even if you don't belong to one school..you soon ending up joining another..i like the fish in a 'bowl' image..are we inside or out..

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  12. The wordle words magically disappeared and your poem took over!! Well done!

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  13. What a cool format. "Few will fight to reach a dream" - a sad truth. What we need is one of those magic shifts one sees in nature films, where all the fish suddenly swerve around at the same moment, as one.......

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  14. Quirky and a fun read, even though its message points out a more than valid truth and reality. I never did learn how to swim more than to keep my head above water. That might be a good thing, but then might not. I think the large "schools" avoid me.

    Elizabeth

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  15. Better to be swimming downstream than up...and there must be an island there, somewhere!

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  16. Ambitiously rich work here, which you carry off beautifully... A very stimulating read... With Best Wishes Scott www.scotthastie.com

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  17. What is happening with this world. It goes topsy turvy. Salmons don't go upstream any more!. The weather is disastrous in many regions. Wonder why! Brilliant shot Cosmo!

    Hank

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  18. Aesop-like in a teaching-telling way. Cleverly done.

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  19. ha. downhill is easy...and you dont have to really work for it...
    and most people will take that to the bank any day.

    cool delivery of this JC

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  20. sigh... and thank you again for a lesson, J Cosmo. I'll always root for those who swim against the current. :)

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  21. Plenty to think about here. Clever, poignant, intriguing. Brilliant.

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