Does it matter one insignificant jot
that in that late and hot
sybaritic summer, the rot set? 

But then weren't we just a pair
of overripe plums...daring
to fall further than we cared? 

What would have been the outcome
had we at least begun - with blossom? 

Do you still possess my pitiful poesies?
Or muse, like me, on these meddlesome memories? 

Is it awkward and mildly mawkish to make the inquiry?
Am I stuck in reverse with this retrospective query? 

Do ponderings always dredge the sludge of  years?
Questions are evidently made for ears 

- are the marks not fashioned so?

21 thoughts on “pause for thought”

1. I find questions so much more interesting than answers… also love those little pauses in thought… it would be great to hear a recording of this as well, but I really find those pauses I think.

   Love the thought of being overripe before you bloom… a great metaphor for those relationships that are over before they really begin.

   1. thank you for this feedback Bjorn – your prompt was so well illustrated and gave pause for thought! The use of the question mark is a powerful silencer especially when there are no answers
      p.s. I keep thinking of recording but the techno effort holds me back

2. Laura your poem is wonderful with its circular musings and the pauses are inserted so subtly that we miss it, which is the mark of great poetry!

   1. What a lovely comment Jilly. I like your perception of circular musings – endless questions like fish rising silently to the bait!

3. I love this Laura, even though it is mulled in cider tart. For every thing there is a season (of silence)

   1. ‘Cider tart’ – most perfectly envisaged – maybe mixed with a little plum brandy?

      1. Best mix for some silences

4. This is very well written. I love the word sybaritic, the comparison with the two overripe plums, and the rhymes.

   1. Thank you – it’s a great word full of suggestion. And thanks for noticing – I do not often rhyme.

5. Every question certainly made me pause for thought. The use of question marks is brilliant!

   1. Just how I intended Vivian – so thank-you. The questions should be read as thoughts that come intermittently

6. Great poem–very clever lines and thoughts here (and I mean clever in a good way!) That last comparison of ears with question marks is terrific!

   1. Glad you spotted the suggestion and many thanks for a very nice comment

7. I liked this central couplet: “Do you still possess my pitiful poesies?
   Or muse, like me, on these meddlesome memories?” The watercolor is also beautiful.

   1. Thank you -was not quite sure with that couplet – composed the photoart after I finished the poem on this one

8. “Just a pair of overripe plums” — ha! Now that imagery will stick with me. Memories are powerful. So is your poetry!

   1. thank you Beth 🙂 do you have an orchard I wonder?!

9. Sometimes questions are answered more from the silent pauses than from words. Nice work!
   Dwight

   1. Well said! Nice comment – thank-you

10. Those question marks really DO look like ears! I don’t think I’d ever thought of that before!

    1. Only spotted the connection after repetitive questioning!

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