Monday, August 23, 2010

Nodding Off

what dreams rise
in that land of nod?
sleep's sleepless sands
time slips face-to-face
with notches
marked on by

sugar cane burned black

leaves a stench
wrenching apart
air's able freedom

raven dives
to sit on the altar
where golden fingers
point with candled nails
to the lighthouse
beyond the bluff

10 comments:

  1. This is one of the best non-short form poems I have read in a long, long time and one of the best poems you have ever written, Kay.

    That "Hand of Glory" pointing to the lighthouse is terrifying. How does an ex-Goody-Two-Shoes know of such things arcane things?

    I am bowled-over.

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  2. What encouragement for me.

    Brian, some of my dreams have been terrifying, and that candlesticked glory came from such.

    The funny dreams, you want to tape and share, others, not so. This one seemed to fit in my ponderings of Cain and Able.

    Thank you for your comment. ~Kay

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  3. So you don't know about the magical spell?

    Hand of Glory (to attain invisibility):

    *Sever the hand of a dead man.

    *cover/soak its fingers in flammable liquid or base.

    *Light fingers as candles.

    *Break-in.



    An actual spell, hundreds of years old.

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  4. No! How horrific. My poem about crawly things in roots comes to mind! What will I dream tonight?

    Thanks for sharing?? LOL.

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  5. Oh, I neglected to mention something important about the H.O.G. The deceased must be an executed murderer and the hand severed while he's hanging from the gibbet.

    No kidding.

    Pleasant dreams...

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  6. Your use of alliteration is impressive.

    Chen-ou

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  7. Thank you Chen-ou. Don't let Brian scare you. LOL.

    ~Kay

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  8. Now, he is "Uncle" Brian.

    By the way, how do you pronounce a verse line like the following?

    "sleep's sleepless sands"

    You see, you English-speaking people love to torture we Chinese. LOL!

    This reminds me of the days I spent on pronunciation practice in my ESL class.

    Chen-ou

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  9. Chen-ou, you made me laugh out loud. If it's any consolation "sleep's sleepless sands" is a challenge even for native speakers. I dare Kay to say it three times in a row and see what the third time sounds like!

    Uncle B.

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  10. Problem is, once I say it three times, another spell may pop out to follow it. You guys don't really want that, do you??

    Aunt K.

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