asked I
to the pencil graphite tip
that fell under my desk
rolled off the top of my bare foot
and lodged its complaint in the plush carpet under my toes
as I plucked it out
between my thumb and pointed finger
just before I flicked it into my garbage bin
like a dry crumb
“Did I press too hard?”
“Did I poke through the page?”
I hear my English professor’s stale echo:
“Writer’s should show
finesse,
subtlety
and
grace,
each word carefully chosen.”
that poison-arrow dart
broken, but still sharp,
left me a tip
before its trash landing:
charcoal smudges on my hand fit for fingerprint blotting
“Guilty!” it said. “Sentenced to life!”
the witness has formally testified
for there on the pages before me
poured out from my beating heart
my written words
bled
~
Words and Photography ©2017 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse. Bookmark the permalink.
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
Hello! I hope you are having a great day, my friend. Thanks, as always, for the share!
I am having such a great day I’m going back to bed for a nap. Ciao Bella My Dear.
Lol…Enjoy the rest!
😎 😄 🎣
Hope your HuMpDaY will be glorious.
Thank you! It is sunny and warm this morning…looking good!
I lived in Sugar Loaf Key for 11 years, I have grown to hate the sun shinning bright. I love a good old fashioned thunder/rain storm. In Florida, you could sit on your lani/pool and watch the storms roll in during rainy season. Every day at 2 PM…. 😎 😛
My dad lived in Florida for a few years. I remember those daily storms. I’m lucky to have tall trees in my backyard. It’s sunny, but I have a lot of shade. 😊
Hug your kids and enjoy your HuMpDaY
I will do that! I’m going to do my writing outside today. You have a great day also!
Enjoy the weather, one day when you have time, explain your writing process to me, I’d love to know how you accomplish what you do.
Hard work and lots of editing. I will enjoy the rest of my day!
You have a wonderful day as well!!!
I think I will hoist a cocktail in your absence. 🍸 😎 😎
Cheers!
Mango juice, Moscato, Amaretto, with a splash of lime juice and a chunk of Mango on the glass rim.
That sounds like a drink for a hot, sunny day…yum!
I won’t keep you from your writing, the world needs your talent, enjoy your sunny day.
You made my day! Thank you!
Oh! For shame, for shame! To the gallows you go! LOL
Fabulous write… It put a smile on my face and a chuckle in my heart. (But you’re still guilty, you know! LOL) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Lol…Thank you so much, Jonathan! Yes, I had a bit of fun with this. Guilty as charged! Glad you enjoyed it. Have a wonderful day!😊
You too, Tanya! 🙂
I will…busy bleeding words! I’m actually adapting my fantasy novel. It’s a complete re-write with new chapters. I’m breaking it into small books. The first will be a free eBook up soon on Amazon. It’s keeping me busy!😊
Oh my … You really are busy, but probably having a lot of fun with it, too! Sounds great, especially the free eBook. Happy writing! 🙂
Thank you! I’m planning the next “Ken” video as well. That one is going to end with a bit of a surprise…(no hints, other than it is FUNNY)
The adaptation is a huge leap past the first book. I’m excited about it.😊
Yay! I can hardly wait… Good for you on both counts! Your talent really shines through in all that you do. Blessings to you and your wonderful family!
That means a lot to me! Thank you from my heart. Blessings your way too!
I don’t reach under my desk if I don’t have to. there may be spiders there. ick!
Hahahahahaha…You have a great memory! Thank you for the laugh, Jim!😊
well I haven’t seen you for a while so I was suspecting that you were kidnapped by small people who try to pass themselves off as kids when they’re really space aliens sent here to take over our world.
or something like that.
Lol…something like that. Have a wonderful day!
Wow, loved this so much!
Thank you so much! That makes me happy!😊
Loved this. And I understood it. Double blessing. Isn’t this a poetic way to say, “Get the lead out, guhl”?
Good one, Steven! Thank you! I had some fun with this one. Have a wonderful day!😊
Oh my, Tanya. This just serves to prove you can take almost any thought and turn it into good reading material! What an imagination you have, my friend! And I did have an English professor like the one you mentioned in your poem!
Another gentle day today, mid to upper 70’s…
🙂
Thank you so much, Steve! I had a lot of fun with this piece. Those silly pencil tips always break. It was inspired…Lol😊
Yes they do break often. My problem was not breaking them as much as having the points go dull or soft. I must have a sharp pencil lead or I can’t think!
Lol 🙂
I agree! I sharpen frequently…Lol
And when I drank hot coffee, I liked it very hot! That’s why I only poured half a cup at a time. A full cup would get too cold for my taste…just sharing trivial information! 🙂
Lol…I like trivial information. I take a full cup, but I drink it slowly. My coffee is always getting cold. I warm the cup up in the microwave and forget I put it there. It’s a running joke in the house to locate my coffee in the microwave…cold again…😊
Now that is interesting and funny trivia! I used to drink my coffee slowly too, but couldn’t swallow it when it was the least bit cold. And I was usually at work and not close to the lunch room to use the microwave. No chance to forget it! I just got a new half cup…
🙂
Lol…
I enjoyed this beautiful read immensely!
Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun writing this one. Glad you liked it!
Really enjoyed this play with words. 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m glad you did. Have a wonderful rest of your week!😊
This is another level of greatness Tanya
Thank you so much, Manuel! I had a lot of fun writing this one. I’m glad you liked it!😊
Nice, and it is always such a pleasure
Have a great evening!
I will, you as well
😊
Thank you so much, Steve! I had a lot of fun writing this piece. Those darn pencils though. I’m always sharpening.
Absolutely! That’s the only kind my sharpener will take.
🤣
It takes a long time to throw off the yoke of that life sentence. I still read my school reports, jealousy guarded, and I am amazed by the negativity that surrounded me in school. I wonder how much of that would have followed me, had I remained in the UK. Certainly emigration gave me a new start, a new life, and I never looked back. The shadows that were cast upon me were just that: shadows. They lacked all reality. Your poem brings back the falsehood of those memories. Thank you.
Thank you, Roger! For me it was a reminder to just keep pouring the words out from my heart. That’s when I am at my best! I think that’s when we all are. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. 😊
Sunny and warm here and we have the patio doo open. Just Skyped with family in Ottawa. Revising some new poems … then out for lunch!
Glad to hear of the open slider! The warm air is a blessing!😊
An interesting, unusual poem. Have a great weekend.
Thank you so much, Kim! Have a great weekend yourself!
Sublime piece of writing.
Thank you, my friend! Glad you enjoyed it!