Sunday Scribblings: Hi, My Name Is ...

Happy Sunday Scribblings!

This poem was more a free association exercise, so it is what it is, I guess. All I know is that the Red Sox have clinched a playoff spot--all is right in my world!

Looking forward to reading your posts this week.



Hello, My Name Is …

the key in the door lock,
the hallway you’ve walked through a-hundred-and-one times
thinking OK, this is it. This is my life.
You stir in the middle of the night,
turning to the window where the pulled-back curtain reveals
a flood light triggered by your next-door neighbor's
predawn gym trip.
You can turn away but the light always finds you,
it shines over closed eyelids
though you are not there, not really.
You drift through the morning,
your hand already gripping a phantom steering wheel
on the same ride you’ve taken for years.
All that while, in the well of dust under the television,
beneath the mirror’s dirty reflection, you are there at the surface
crowding the house. You at the door sliding the key in the lock
—past the hallway, past the hardwood's creek,
the relentless floor—cannot guarantee you are who you say you are.
Your name is, one foot out the door.

Comments

Anonymous said…
whoo sox
paris parfait said…
I like your take on the prompt - one foot out the door is an interesting concept, especially the way we live now with everything rush, rush, rush.
Lisa Cohen said…
Go Sox! Hubby asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year--an annual ritual--he asks, I say "nothing". *This* year, I surprised him. I said I wanted a Kevin Youkilis bobble head.

LOL.
Anonymous said…
One foot out the door! I remember those days...always no mater where on goes up there in the old country it seems th entire population is one foot out the door. No time to stop,and just be.
You captured a feeling very well.
That's a great, great poem!! LoVeiT!
Jo said…
A great poem based on a clever concept.
Anonymous said…
"You can turn away but the light always finds you,
it shines over closed eyelids
though you are not there, not really."

Awesome...
Becca said…
January, I really enjoyed this poem. It speaks to a feeling I often have, when one part of me is resigned to going through the monotonous motions of everyday life, yet another part of me dwells somewhere else, in my imagination, 'so that I cannot gaurantee I am who I say I am.'

Very nice :)
Kamsin said…
I took the last line the "name" to be about escape. Tired of going through the motions, living a life of routine your only half present in. That one foot out the door is off to something new, different, it's out of there.
January said…
Thanks Kamsin. I like you spin on things. Everyday is an opportunity to change it up a bit.

And really, life is pretty good--except for the 5 a.m. morning routine!
January said…
Go SOX!
Odessa said…
"You can turn away but the light always finds you,
it shines over closed eyelids" - beautiful lines! i really enjoyed this poem as it resonates in my life as well.

and a "predawn gym trip" - that's brutal.
WHat a great poem! Every line works for you. (And, it can do double-duty--you can use it for WI tomorrow. The prompt is "The Key."

Or, you could write another "Key" poem.

In fact, a whole book of "Key" poems would be a really interesting idea!
Tumblewords: said…
Ah, the being present. Barely and seldom. Nice work!

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