4.14.2015

Outside Listening In

Grey lifts to chatter.
I tiptoe, hover, listening in,
bewildered by verbiage,
maze of fanciful descriptors
entirely out of context,
challenged to even begin imagining
context for your best ruffian argot.
Where are you inside your pillow fort?
I wish I could go there.
But you recognize
despite my languid protest
that adult concerns counterbalance
your bright menagerie of words
with which to play I am no longer invited.
Instead, it is my privilege to witness
from a short distance--

#14 of 30 in April! Sharing on The Tuesday Platform in the Imaginary Garden. Sigh!
Posted by Marian at 6:57 AM
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19 comments:

  1. Sanaa RizviApril 14, 2015 at 8:17 AM

    This is such an intense poem... loved the vivid imagery and rich tone :D

    I tiptoe, hover, listening in,
    bewildered by verbiage,
    maze of fanciful descriptors
    entirely out of context,
    challenged to even begin imagining
    context for your best ruffian argot.

    These lines are beautiful...!!
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vandana SharmaApril 14, 2015 at 9:12 AM

    beautiful expressions and details like pillow fort is amazing!!

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  3. Debi SwimApril 14, 2015 at 9:40 AM

    Instead, it is my privilege to witness from a short distance--
    Yes, that day comes but you'll get another turn when you are a grandma. Grandmas don't count as adult thank goodness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sherry Blue SkyApril 14, 2015 at 11:28 AM

      LOL, I love what Debi says. Grandmas for SURE are not grown up! But this was an ouch! moment. I love "it is my privilege to witness from a short distance."

      Delete
  4. Magaly GuerreroApril 14, 2015 at 9:42 AM

    "...adult concerns counterbalance
    your bright menagerie of words"

    This speaker sure knows how to insult beautifully. Ouch.

    By the way, I spent an entire summer (11th grade, I think) using the word "verbiage" as often as I could. It drove everyone crazy. And I couldn't stop, lol!

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  5. colleenApril 14, 2015 at 9:50 AM

    Made me smile and want to go back into the pillow fort too! Love the lead in line.

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  6. colleenApril 14, 2015 at 9:50 AM

    Made me smile and want to go back into the pillow fort too! Love the lead in line.

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  7. brudbergApril 14, 2015 at 10:39 AM

    Ah... there are those occasions.. the safe distance made me smile.. somehow moving from sinister to sweet in my mind.

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  8. HannahApril 14, 2015 at 11:53 AM

    I love the shifting perspectives the inside/outside the fort feeling...this is brilliant, Marian!!

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  9. TimoteoApril 14, 2015 at 12:01 PM

    The kind of fond reflection reserved for those we love.

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  10. kaykualaApril 14, 2015 at 12:35 PM

    with which to play I am no longer invited.
    Instead, it is my privilege to witness
    from a short distance--

    What life can be once one is no more an adult but beyond adult. Gives a feeling of not being acceptable to the group anymore! Wonderful lines Marian!

    Hank

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  11. JimApril 14, 2015 at 3:00 PM

    I too am smiling. :) Imaginary friends can displace a parent or other for those little folks.
    It doesn't last so awfully long, they soon will have real friends galore to take your place,
    and that of those imaginary guys.
    ...

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  12. EllaApril 14, 2015 at 9:10 PM

    I want to be inside the fort, but know that dance. I love how you went in and out and took us with you~
    Wonderful!

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  13. OutlawyerApril 14, 2015 at 10:09 PM

    Oh dear--how it goes! Well described for sure! Thanks. k.

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  14. Rosemary Nissen-WadeApril 15, 2015 at 1:28 AM

    Ah yes, sad when we lose the passport to that secret land (or have it revoked).

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  15. grapelingApril 15, 2015 at 2:22 AM

    I miss the boys playing with abandon ~

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  16. AnonymousApril 15, 2015 at 6:53 AM

    I wonder if this was what my mother was thinking when she lifted the garbage can lid to see who was sitting in there swearing up a tin echo of a jeremiad. Do we post our writings from that vantage we had as children to romp with words?

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  17. Kerry O'ConnorApril 15, 2015 at 10:12 AM

    Children will create their own worlds, and we watch them, remembering our own worlds.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Mark KerstetterApril 15, 2015 at 11:28 AM

    I am not a parent, but this is the kind of poem that gives me a sense of what it must be like.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

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