The Sunday Whirl has a set of words, for a Wordle;
sign, lame, chime, tethered shine, game, erotic, card, tame, soft, found.
Sign in, Clock off.
Pick a card! Go on, any card!
Did you win? Of course not.
The game is fixed.
What starts as a sweaty coupling,
Erotic or cold, functional,
Has its own rules, I’ve found.
Nothing you can anticipate,
Nothing tethered to logic.
It’s a racket. It’s a con.
It’s barely here before it’s gone.
The fates roll the dice, it’s loaded,
Spin the wheel, it’s rigged,
Shuffle the deck and stack it.
Nothing matches, nothing rhymes.
Sitting, lordly, the Gods, watching, amused.
Visiting their whim upon the fit and lame,
The wild and tame,
The timid and game.
Soft option, or hard, it’s all the same.
Daily, the rise, the shine and set.
People live and die, eat and work, beget.
Time marches, relentlessly forward,
Until it strikes the hour. Your hour.
Can you hear the chimes?
.
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© 2021 J Cosmo Newbery
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Ouch. I do not (yet) hear my chimes...
ReplyDeleteHello, J Cosmo, nice to see you.
ReplyDeleteWell-worded! That rather cynical or fatalistic view is quite persuasive as you tell it. I do hear something in the distance, which I am hoping is not the sound of my chimes – or that they are still quite far away.
The pace of this poem emphasises the urgency so well, it got my heart racing! Life is a gamble, ‘barely here before it’s gone’, and the clock is constantly ticking. But it’s no good listening out for the chimes, we must make the most of the time we have.
ReplyDeleteNothing could be worse than to look back on ones life and realise you haven't achieved anything that you dreamt about when you were younger. At least with writing it is always good that readers like your stories and poetry and say so!
ReplyDeleteExcellent use of the words I can hear the chimes...they are getting closer.
ReplyDeleteFast and sleek. I like it. I once tried gambling and realized I was too lethargic and morose to hear the chimes.
ReplyDeleteThe shifts in the rhythm of the words added a lot to the feel of this piece. Once you thought you had it down, the pace turned, and you try to play a game of catch up (one you point out can't be won).
ReplyDeleteI never new chimes could sound so ominous...
ReplyDeleteYour poem is beautifully penned .... I thoroughly enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWe all get into this mood a time or two - I feel sorry for those who never get out of it. Makes me sad, this poem. Very well penned.
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