Skip to main content

Places and Poetry




PLACES and POETRY
A discussion over dinner with friends landed on the topic of visiting Venice. All present had been fortunate to visit this unique city in Northern Italy at least once.

 A few days later still mulling over my memories of Venice, I recalled sitting in Campo Santa Margherita and observing the scene across the piazza that morning.


The poet within heard the call and my notebook collected these words.

 Poetry among other things is about recalling memories.

 Italian Cafe Scene

 I sit here
Outside a Venetian cafe
The chairs face the piazza
European style
Slowly sipping an overpriced cappuccino 
The faces of people passing reveal secrets
My gaze shifts to ancient buildings
bordering the square
I imagine the view from windows and balconies
Sitting here
Outside a Venetian cafe
The snakes in my head
And the mad cats clawing the inside of my belly
Vanish
Overwhelmed by the allure of tranquility
And the beauty
Of this morning
Labels:

Comments

  1. Tara3 December 2016 at 02:57

    The beauty of what surrounds us is often just the antidote we need for what struggles within. Lovely poem, Alan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright3 December 2016 at 09:18

      Thank you Tara. Yes, appreciating the beauty that surrounds us is something well worth the pursuit.

      Delete
  2. Bridget Magee3 December 2016 at 07:55

    Ah, Venice...someday. Thank you for sharing your Venetian moment, Alan. I could almost smell the "overpriced cappuccino". =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright3 December 2016 at 09:16

      Coffee is like that Bridget. Maybe a Venice vacation?

      Delete
  3. Anonymous3 December 2016 at 10:20

    'The snakes in my head
    And the mad cats clawing the inside of my belly'

    Such a strong and unexpected image.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alan j Wright3 December 2016 at 13:24

    The things that agitate, distract and annoy us sometimes require clear identification. It's a bit like Shakespeare's words of 'Out damned spot I say' It's so good when they evaporate or leave when we focus on the here and now and let it wash over us. Thanks for the feedback Katherine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julieanne3 December 2016 at 15:35

    Your poem transported me. Someday I will sit European style. Until then, I'll enjoy your view. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Alan j Wright3 December 2016 at 16:27

    Julieanne, I am pleased you gained a sense of my vision. I hope you do get to sit and savour this very place one day in the not too distant future.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales4 December 2016 at 12:53

    I have never been, but the picture reminds me of Quincy Market in Boston. I had never realized what a European layout that it has. Now I can feel like I have experienced a little taste. Thanks for sharing the great poem.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Alan j Wright4 December 2016 at 13:00

    Glad you were able to make your own connection Brenda. That's important.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Unknown9 December 2016 at 18:28

    Lovely poem and gorgeous photo - takes me right back to Venice - my family and I were there early this year in June. I think we must have stopped for a photoshoot in this exact same place as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright24 March 2017 at 09:25

      Wow, synchronicity. The sharing of beauty in the same place. 'A thing of beauty is a joy forever' is an oft used quote. it is also very true. Thanks for dropping by Myra.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Inspired by Images and Objects

There are many ways pictures and photographs can be conscripted to support the writing of poetry. Allow me to share a few ideas with you: Old photographs are a great source of inspiration. Cynthia Rylant explored this idea with great success in her book 'Something Permanent' where she employed the Depression era photographs of Walker Evans to add a new voice to the starkness to the lives of people experienced under extreme circumstances. I have used this strategy to spark many individual poems. In ' I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon,' I used a photo I had taken in 2004 while living in New York to inspire a poem. The poem was based on a story related by a friend who grew up in New York.  I regularly combined poetry and pictures in my writer's notebook, drawing on inspiration from the photograph and my personal memories. We can also utilize existing cartoons and illustrations to create ekphrastic poems. I frequently use the illustrations of Jim Pavlidis to co...
20 comments
Read more

Opposite Poems

O pp o s ite P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. N...
26 comments
Read more

Powerful Poetry, 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston

  This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Janice Scully  @ Salt City Verse where Janice shares some original words and offers us a taste of Thomas Carlyle to ponder. I encourage you to join a host of poets from all around the globe and visit Janice's page... Almost two years to the day, I wrote a post featuring the poem 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston. The poem was included in Brian's first book of poetry, 'You Took The Last Bus Home.' A very powerful Reverso poem and technically brilliant.  A Reverso poem can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top. It will often express opposite opinions depending on which way you read it. Such poems really make us think. A Reverso poem is like a picture turned upside down, a frowning face upended to reveal a smiling one. The poem read in reverse, contradicts itself with an opposing message. In 'Refugee' Brian Bilston focuses on a societal issue that tends to polarize feelings and the opposing views are clearly in eviden...
14 comments
Read more