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Saturday, January 10, 2009

A single hair ... strange inspiration

This isn't the poem I originally intended to post today, but the other two I'm working on still need some time and thought. I dashed these lines off in a few hours, as I'm sure it shows.

The poem was inspired by the most mundane of moments: the sight of a single dark hair (my own) raised against stark white bed linen. I don't know why it captured my attention, but it did and here is the result.

A single hair
by Francis Scudellari

A single, coarse black hair
by mere Chance, or Fate's hand
(who can say?) now plucked from
the anonymity
of a fielded likeness
then, on swirling current
carried till interest
or energy ebbed, and
it was sudden dropped — here
blindly, perhaps, drifting
down in tighter circles
onto a uniform
bed of white, itself new
found in significance
an ebon strand raised there
on unlike surroundings

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's amazing that just seeing your strand of hair had given you the inspiration to write a poem. That's a poet for you. It's great, how it came out, like you were talking of something out of this world. Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Excellent poem Francis. To quote jenaisle "It's amazing that just seeing your strand of hair had given you the inspiration to write a poem." The one thing I'm learning from reading your work - it's sometimes the most mundane of moments that create inspiration. Like Newton and the apple. Well done. Take care my friend.
~JD

Anonymous said...

It is perhaps a little rough, but that's why we rewrite and revise and edit our poetry so damn much that at the end it barely even looks like the thing we started with.

The thought of a single hair having that much importance ... it brings to mind Wallace Stevens' poetry, actually, and his reoccurring motif of snow and winter to represent mankind. Excellent job.

Unknown said...

Brilliant poem, Francis. Simpler and more easily understood than most of yours, yet it still goes deep.

Francis Scudellari said...

@Jena Sometimes my little apartment does seem out of this world :). Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

@JD I like to think of them as every day epiphanies, but the entity manifesting itself is probably all in my mind.

@Daisy I didn't do much rewriting on this one ... too much to do on the others I'm working on. I like the comparison to Wallace Stevens ... thank you :).

@Carlos I'll try to get a link up fo you. Have a nice day too.

@Jakill Thanks, I made the effort to keep this one more straightforward, because of the simple subject matter. I think it may be something I do more of going forward.