You humans are all alike, no time no time,
no time is beautiful, before birth and after life.
My pancakes are shallow thoughts
stacked in the kitchen,
she adds a little honey.
I’m late for work at the hardware store,
mostly robots looking for spare parts.
They’re not like her.
I knew she’d leave soon enough,
soon enough I’d play the game, pretend I wanted her to go—
that’s how shallow I am.
She melded days with nights,
the phases of the earth and all things turning,
sun light, sun dark, candle lit, candle
guttered.
You plan to forget me,
human, but I’m coming back,
so forget your plan.
She could freeze a butterfly above her open hand,
its wings of flight, each shining scale.
She pulled its time away, she told me,
left it not a second to beat against the air,
but I know it was something she did to my eyes
to make them see.
She took the bus to Uluru, said she was going to
write a little poetry. I cried in the kitchen,
splashes in my Pinot Grigio.
about
Some possibilities are too extreme even for speculative fiction, like diluting perfectly good Pinot Grigio.
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My short story The Phantasms of Tocantins has appeared at Sci Phi Journal and is now free to read on-line. Continues →
artwork
whether—ten percent chance of liquid metal showers in the afternoon. Some detail below, as well as phantasma featuring three of the ghosts from Phantasms of Tocantins.
us humans eh? going about a-b & pro-creating without any creating, all for the satisfaction of the act. another densely marauding poem, pillaging a pack of satisfying images. quality as always Steve. i don’t drink wine, coffee is already bitter so best for crying into.
Thanks so much Daniel. A fair point–from now on I only cry into my espresso :).
really enjoyed this steve, great way to start a saturday. pinot grigio [chuckle].
Glad you enjoyed Mel. Yes, theoretically of course, if, theoretically, you had any left over from Friday night ;).
Great poem again Steve and congratulations on the publication.
Your enthusiasm shows and is a big plus.
Cheers,
Frank
Wish I had enthusiasm (and creativity) on tap, I just have to go with wherever I’m at. Thanks, Steve.
Shoot. Your stuff is good. And your cracks are funny! Diluting the PG… chuckling. 🙂
Thanks, Boomer Girl. I just try to stick to the facts … as I see them 8-).
Sensitive and beautifully phrased, I love it. And the artwork is great as always.
Thank you November Child. ‘Sensitive’–wait till the other computer geeks hear that :mrgreen:.
I love the image of “freezing a butterfly above her open hand”. Brilliant poem Steve.
Thank you Mairi. I’m interested in Buddhist time, paying attention to every moment, seeing that beauty. Still prefer butterflies to cockroaches though, so a long journey to enlightenment :).
Yea, I know what you mean 😊.
I love this. Partly in awe of your word choice. The opening is exquisite! “My pancakes are shallow thoughts
stacked in the kitchen, she adds a little honey” love, love, love!
Thanks, Sascha. I’m a bit hit and miss, depending on factors like how much Pinot is in the fridge and whether I’ve had an apocalyptic day or not, but I was pleased with the pancakes. I particularly liked and admired your unflinching Bridge piece, Steve.
Your comment just that makes me wish that I had a few more moments to read more of your blog….to see how much is Pinot or not. And, thank you; you’re very kind for commenting on my piece. I look forward to reading more of your work. I don’t think I’m anywhere near your caliber, but maybe there’s osmosis. 🙂
Ha ha, it’s all Pinot except for the Chard :). Everyone writes their story, I could have a case of Pinot and still not write like you.
That’s because I’m zinfandel powered. (Actually tonight it was a red blend….but, well, you know…zinfandel sounds cooler.)
Just gorgeous artwork, Steve! Wow.
Thanks Randy, glad you like it.
I’m glad I stumbled across this. You have a lovely turn of phrase. Thanks for sharing.
Eli
My pleasure. I find social media is a great excuse not to do other things resembling work :).
Love this!! I’d explain all the reasons why, but I need caffeine. And I am sure others have already done so. 🙂 Look forward to reading more.
Thanks Saynotoclowns, and from now on I will always say no to them. Unless they are the barista and they call out my name. This is the exception that proves the rule.
Please speak slowly, caffeine has not been administered yet…
prove as in test…then yes…this is quite a quandary…the title came up when i thought no one would actually read my stuff, it was a reminder to myself as I have never liked them. Then all of that clown bizarring started happening in the US…and now, another layer. The caffeine thing is a serious consideration though! if it’s easier, you can call me Vanessa. 🙂
I really like the title, the first thing I noticed about your site. It’s a winner–original and layers of meaning. As a name though, Vanessa is definitely better :).
Thank you so much! On both counts.
Nice words. Is there any time other than Now?
Thanks. A good question that I could say a lot about except the internet would fall asleep.
For me, Now is when we see, feel , touch, live in the world, but the ‘we’ is a complication. I think we’re made of time, created by our past, and that creation, together with dreams and aspirations for the future, determines how the Now affects us, right down to how we perceive each moment.
I’ll stop now, I can hear distant snoring. :).
“before birth and after life” in my own work, I’ve always imagined these times of non-existence to be akin to a perfect contemplation of peace — almost a kind of meditation with an utter lack of any thought or personal presence, the kind found almost each night in black, dreamless sleep. From such a standpoint, perhaps the fleeting moments of one’s consciousness begin to feel like the aberration disturbing the peace, creating inconsequent and short-lived ripples between twin-unchanging eternities.
Beautifully expressed, and I agree. I imagine that the state of nirvana reached through meditative practice is a place of being without the self and without the dual disturbances of time: the past with its memories and all we attach to them, or the future of hopes, fears, dreams, and so on. For me the nature of time is of great interest (and a mystery). ⏳
Absolutely love this!
Great choice of words and visuals, the mixture of colours is fascinating.
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed. The artwork is done by Florence, the computer, and Vee, the visual evolution engine. I let them know you liked it. 😸
Congratulations Steve! Words and thoughts connected, explosions of visuals. Your works have all these layers, I can never just read it once for my mind pops off the page with your visuals.
Eg. “before birth and after life”, and
“she could freeze a butterfly above her open hand” wheww you certainly do create paintings with your words.
Loved it.
Thank you, Tamaya, glad you enjoyed. Those particular ideas about time that you quoted have been with me for a while, in my short stories as well. Time as a fluid, that might be drawn away and restored, has always appealed to me. How amazing it would be to have the ability to do that.
I have just watched a movie on netflix titled ANON. It’s about altering and erasing time, very interesting. I will not go any further for I don’t want to spoil any of it for you.
Thanks for letting me know, Tamaya. I’m always interested in time-related sci-fi, I’ll take a look.
Reblogged this on REFLECTIONS and commented:
Read this poem again today and loved it…so many beautiful lines…”but I know it was something she did to my eyes
to make them see.”
Thank you for sharing this piece, Sobhana. The line you quoted actually relates to a short story I wrote quite a long time ago.
Would love to read the short story, Steve, can you please share a link? Many thanks.
Well this is a bit embarrassing. I searched through, and the story was called “Low Tide.” My records show that I sent it to a publisher but they never responded. I could put it up here on Inconstant Light, but I still have a faint hope that one day I will find time to send stories like this to other publishers (although it’s been two years now and I haven’t). I apologise, Sobhana.
Thank you for the update, Steve. I look forward to reading it one day when a publisher you deserve publishes it 🙂