To The Margins Light rain veils the clouds, blanketing shadows, Pushing them to the background, to the margins. Autumn provides context to our marginal existence. Stuck on the precipice, Brightly coloured leaves hanging precariously On the gallows of misspent time. Time wasted, time lost to inaction, to Indolence, graft and protectionism. Protectionism, but not protection. The latter is too high a price to pay. Money does not grow on trees, invested For those rainy days that wash farm to sea And homes under high water mark until Light rain veils the clouds, blanketing shadows.
NaPoWriMo #27
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 
I liked the line ” the gallows of misspent time” ….what a mess we’ve made.
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Yes, we have, Heather. Are our attention spans so short that we will let it slide, or our gaze so narrow that we don’t look beyond our own fence?
I am feeling gloomy due to the venal election antics on our screen each night.
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Sometimes we get caught in the fence and our energy gets spent…and then that nasty attitude ….why bother , nothing ever changes… rears its ugly head.
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“[T]he gallows of misspent time” is the line that struck me as well. Such a vivid and incisive metaphor.
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Thank you, Liz. It is I interesting how people have liked that line. I thought carefully about whether to use that term. I didn’t want to be emotive or hyperbolic but I did want to reflect the seriousness of the harm being done.
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You’re welcome, Tracy. For me, that line and “Light rain veils the clouds, blanketing shadows” made the poem.
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They meant something to me too, Liz.
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I too loved that line as well as the opening/closing ones. Wait….I love this poem. It stirred something deep within.
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Thank you Punam. Lots of anxiety inducing election campaigning here. You know how it is. The IPPC warned us. Good work is being done of course but ….
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I get that. Elections have become such a mess.
You are welcome.
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I love this poem as a metaphor for te ‘misspent time’ which has produced the mess we’re in. I fid your more serious poetry particularly successful, Tracy. It’s thought-provoking.
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Thanks, Margaret. I am prone to thinking out load. I like poetry as a short form writing option otherwise I tend to go on and on!
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A great lesson for us all to learn!
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Wow! This is fabulous Tracy! What a great example of the form!
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Thanks, Jo. I was going to pass on the duplex but, oh well, decided to try one last time. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
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well, pretty good start, I reckon. 🙂
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Wow, “On the gallows of misspent time.” That’s haunting…
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I thought twice about using that phrase but, here we are.
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It’s perfect.
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