Challenge 76

[foxrafer.livejournal.com]

This week's challenge: a poem by Chase Twichell. Think about the entire poem or focus on individual lines or phrases; whatever inspires you.

Inland
by Chase Twichell

Above the blond prairies,
the sky is all color and water.
The future moves
from one part to another.

This is a note
in a tender sequence
that I call love,
trying to include you,
but it is not love.
It is music, or time.

To explain the pleasure I take
in loneliness, I speak of privacy,
but privacy is the house around it.
You could look inside,
as through a neighbor's window
at night, not as a spy
but curious and friendly.
You might think
it was a still life you saw.

Somewhere, the ocean
crashes back and forth
like so much broken glass,
but nothing breaks.
Against itself,
it is quite powerless.

Irises have rooted
all along the fence,
and the barbed berry-vines
gone haywire.

Unpruned and broken,
the abandoned orchard
reverts to the smaller,
harder fruits, wormy and tart.
In the stippled shade,
the fallen pears move
with the soft bodies of wasps,
and cows breathe in
the licorice silage.

It is silent
where the future is.
No longer needed there,
love is folded away in a drawer
like something newly washed.
In the window,
the color of the pears intensifies,
and the fern's sporadic dust
darkens the keys of the piano.

Clouds containing light
spill out my sadness.
They have no sadness of their own.

The timeless trash of the sea
means nothing to me—
its roaring descant,
its multiple concussions.
I love painting more than poetry.

The deadline: July 21

Original fic, any fandom, any genre; real and fictional person pairings; slash, gen or het; fics, graphics, or videos. The goal is to inspire creation of any stripe and color. And most importantly, have fun.

If this interests or intrigues you, if you think you'd like to play around with the theme, or if you already have an idea that's just itching to be realized, please comment to this post to express your interest. This doesn't commit you to creating something based on this challenge; it just gives us an idea about what things the community members find most compelling.

Questions? Check out the info on the profile page. Otherwise, please contact me by PM or email.

Comments

[not-a-lamb.livejournal.com]

Somewhere, the ocean
crashes back and forth
like so much broken glass,
but nothing breaks.
Against itself,
it is quite powerless.
...
It is silent
where the future is.
No longer needed there,
love is folded away in a drawer
like something newly washed.
...
The timeless trash of the sea
means nothing to me—
its roaring descant,
its multiple concussions.
I love painting more than poetry.


These bits especially inspire me. His images are so crisp and pure. He tells so clearly, while still leaving so much to the imagination. Beautiful. Thanks. :)

With the ocean, folded shirts and "Against itself/it is quite powerless", I think that it would make a spectacular sort of unrequited Vigorli from Viggo's point of view. Sort of speckling the fic with the images the poet gives. Maybe breaking it up into different scenes, each revolving around an image. Over time.

Or something. Either way, thanks for sharing something beautiful.

[foxrafer.livejournal.com]

I just want to thank you for this. I'm so so glad that you not only liked the poem but it sparked an idea. Whether it finds its way onto paper or not, it's so great to hear that it painted a picture for you. Thanks so much!