Saturday, January 26, 2008

resignation



As a plough breaking up the sods of earth
and the hopper dropping a seed into the furrow.
Or as a knife plunging into flesh
and the blood spurting upon its return.
So I have looked for such significance.

An action pregnant with consequence
and birthing a new and different future.
Something other, something different,
not now, not ever been before.
The great expectation, the fulfilled promise of many a thought before sleeping
or before an unscratched lottery card.

I always thought there would be more but there is not,
life is, as it appears to be and no more.

Or is it?

In spite of our creation and wandering
for 70 or 7 million years
only the corner of the canvas remains blotted.
The vastness is untouched by most
and yet there are those who reach with brush and paint a great swathe.
And there are those who splash their color upon the ready and waiting whiteness.

Can I?

Pick up the plough, the knife or the paint brush
and stretch out into the future of my making.

The seed will grow, the blood will spill and in the end,
as always, the paint will dry.



--------------------------------------------------------------
Written in 20 minutes with probably 5 minutes of editing. An experiment in writing something inspired by my recent resignation from my job.

I have no job to go to but I would rather uncertainty in a future of my own making than certainty in a future that is not what I want.

A fool? perhaps.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely words and very accessible. Now this is the "Stream of consciousness" that you often talked about.

am said...

Cheers, accessibility is something I have always valued in verse.

Anonymous said...

However I question the wisdom of your graphic in such a public place.

am said...

I just liked the image, it doesn't convey anything else.

Unknown said...

Hi Alan,

You're a wonderful writer, perhaps that is a passion to follow. As for the image, it is attention grabbing with immediate emotional impact that conveys moving on from something quite unpleasant.

Change is unsettling. Allow it to be so. It's quite fascinating to watch unfold.

All the best,
Marc

am said...

Thanks Marc, I have been working on been a little more detached. Nor sure if I always succeed.

jmnsw said...

Well it's been a while between drinks at this particular bar for me ... nice kinda angry post maybe but it is a down hill slide (in a positive way freewheeling) rather than jumping off a cliff and landing on solid ground

take care

am said...

I think the graphic in combination with the title and the image perhaps convey more anger than is my intent.

I am quite philosophic about it all, maybe writing poetry about it demonstrates that ;-))

I do have a sense of jumping into the unknown. Someone said to me once that changing jobs was like a 'monkey swinging on vines in the forest'. You gotta make sure to grab onto a new one before your let go of the one you are holding.

I have let go without catching hold of another. As Tom Petty might say 'free fallin'.

Cheers for all the comments on this one, great to hear the feedback and interpretation. When you write you chose the words but the reader choses the meaning.

raindog71 said...

Well done, bravo!

am said...

Cheers!

Sue said...

Just wonderful!

I wish you the best with whatever comes your way!

am said...

Thanks alot Sue.