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Friday, April 16, 2010

Canvas and Rubber

Two loose yellow tongues flap me back
to that cul-de-sac of leather
balls bounced on a tarry hot blacktop.

The sweat came fast, our slapping palms
got slippery. We couldn't waste time
on excuses or fouls, just elbows

strategically placed, saggy smiles
and my canvas Chuck T's tearing
away from worn-down rubber soles.



The Day 16 NaPoWriMo prompt from ReadWritePoem is called What's that smell? Through it we'll take an olfactory-based stroll down memory lane.

9 comments:

Jenny said...

This is brilliant, Francis. The blows and knocks and smells are very vibrant here. There is a bouncing reverberation here. And of course I am a big fan of smells in poetry. Any kinds of smells. :)

Unknown said...

Hi Francis,

See, I never had this type of olfactory experience; sweat, leather, tarmac, tired pumps/sneakers(?!). A nice comfy armchair always beat physical exertion!

Anonymous said...

Brilliantly crafted. The sound of the language, the assonance, it all works great!

flaubert said...

Francis,
Outstanding piece!
Pamela

Levi W. said...

Man this is good! It's similar to a poem I found at http://thehatlist.wordpress.com/ the other day, and that guy is good.

one more believer said...

neat and tight experience...as if just yesterday... tabac infusion

Unknown said...

never have come across such brilliant, esoteric poetry in all my years of teaching/ writing poetry!

Jenny said...

Hi again,

I have just changed FoS template and I think it looks nice. Just wanted to check with you if you like the new look, as you have helped out with the layout. It is important that the template does justice to your images. If you do not like it, tell me and I will change.

Francis Scudellari said...

@Jenny I haven't done much with smells, so this was a good first work-out :).

@Derrick I was always a wannabe jock, so I fed my athletic fantasies as often as I could.

@PoemBlaze Thanks, these quick turnarounds always have me worried I'm rushing through the pieces.

@Pamela Thanks, as always.

@Levi I'll have to check out that hat list.

@OneMore It seems like yesterday, bit it's now many ago.

@Smita Thanks... I think I have esoteric down pretty well, I'm not always up to the brilliant ;).