Thursday 19 November 2009

re City crawl [Poem]

Dunlop tyres,
liquid headlights
streak above the river
Irwell - starlights of the soil

Below,
canal paths are busy
with end-of-day bustle,
while the daily 9-to-5 grind
washes the faces of desperate
drivers, grinding to a halt
in another traffic
crawl

teetering

caught
in heavy showers;
clear, caterpillars
wriggle down wound-shut
window panes,
I imagine

as I bite into an unripe
plum


Catherine Mark

8 comments:

gerry boyd said...

'starlights of the soil'

'wriggle down.....panes'

and the last line are wonderful!

bravo!

Anonymous said...

It was raining when I read this. And I was eating raisins in bed,listening to the cars go by. Perfect.

Love your use of words, how they FEEL like the wet of the rainy evening near the thoroughfare. And the ending with the (dry sounding) unripe plumb.

Very nice, Catherine.

cheryl said...

The daily rush to get home where we are safe and secure. You've captured the desperation, Cheryl

IJ said...

Nice Cath,
This one got my mind going in all sorts of directions. Very intricate use of words which created such descriptive images in my head. Your works definitely on another level now- well done!

Unknown said...

Thank you for your visit and nice comments!

Silke Lauryn said...

Every time I read your blog, I want to be in the UK experiencing all of this. The other day I was driving to work, and while I was driving through the bluffs, it was really foggy and there was lots of traffic, and all I could think of was writing about this daily trek that I had not seen the beauty of until that moment. When I came upon a man begging at an intersection, I felt a strong pull to write or even video tape this man. This is what your work reminds me of. This day when I was reminded of the beauty within consistency.

Cynthia said...

Luv washes the face of desperate
drivers. Beautiful phrase. The entire poem reads like a glittery
rainy day, with the sweet touch
of melancholy.

Cynthia said...

P.S. I would love to interview
you about the experience of
taking a MA in creative writing.