after the one momentous breath
a steady breeze swelled the vocal folds
’til the word was made more tangible than tongue
blunted and clay-cut to tally sheep and goats
wars and kingdom comes
much later, scripted and baptised in inky fonts
fluency flowed
and yet what waste are words as works of hand
when fished from lexiconic lakes
streamed in babble and labelled
leading edge, la mot à la mode
the emperor wears robes of Phoenician purple
crushed from mollusc multitudes
– naked, he’s just an Adam from the birthing factory
I’m content to be apprentice, student of the pitfalls
ciphering the syllables one key stroke at a time
learning to scrawl
I missed Sumana’s Midweek Motif: Word so am linking up to the Poetry Pantry
Postscript: For my photo challenge this Sunday, I came across Robert Francis’ – Glass Poem which gives such clarity to the word in poetry.
I adore your words….they leave me breathless as I fill my hunger….you play with them, challenge them and then defeat me as I turn to a dictionary to release my angst….always leaving me wanting more of them. This is a perfect example as you take me on a trip through the history of our words/language…if you are a mere apprentice my friend, I have yet to barely utter.
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am glowing in a whirlwind after your wonderful words – many thank yous Donna
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I love your being content to be an apprentice. Me too.
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humbling eh Sherry?!
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“I’m content to be apprentice”, there is wisdom in these words. Life is a journey of learning.
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true Truedessa!
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Regally hued from the rarest dyes – all we can do is offer our own simple words as we progress through the art of wordsmithing.
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Nice way of putting it Rommy – thank you
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“and yet what waste are words as works of hand when fished from lexiconic lakes” ..gosh such beautiful use of language here!😍💖
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Wary of being a wordmonger here
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Anyone who loves writing knows that apprenticeship is all we qualify for. “Learning to scrawl” is lifelong work! And how many fine poems as this pave the way.
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At least we can enjoy the journey Brendan
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I think that being an apprentice is the best we can be… the opposite to me is to be fixed, a master of writing nothing… love this.
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It is reassuring to have limitations and know where and what they are – appreciate your words Björn
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Beautifully penned. I have never thought this way about being an apprentice; and indeed it really works and expresses an idea in a very unique way.
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Many thanks Mary – Better than novice because the apprentice is committed!
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We are all apprentices and never stop learning. This is true of all professions for we must not remain static but experiment all the time ever seeking perfection.
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the experimental bit helps our creativity though I do not like to stray too far from fundamentals
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I’m content to be apprentice, student of the pitfalls
ciphering the syllables one key stroke at a time
learning to scrawl
Learning can be fun. Agreed, Laura. It should not be too long in some situations, though!
Hank
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used to be 7 years before a Journeyman
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For us I believe “la mot à la mode” is “C’est notre vie”.
Marcher joyeusement 🙂
ZQ
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merci ZQ – though my favourite poetry is more marcher tristement
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: ( Pourquoi ?
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parce que… 🙂
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🙂
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I love how you write of being the eternal learner. This is beautifully penned and I do know I will never be more than an apprentice. Such an honor.
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in Tai Chi the aim of the master is to be as open and free as the novice so there is something we lose when attaining levels
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being the apprentice ..yes absolutely! beautifully said….
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thank you for your words 🙂
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Mesmerising wonderful words Laura – thank you.
Anna :o]
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and thank you too Anna for not being hypercritical
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What a wonderful ars poetica piece! And I am crazy about Robert Francis’s poem too – I have always thought EXACTLY that about what good writing should be! Thank you so much on both counts.
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I really appreciate your encouragement Rosemary. Francis’ poem was sheer synchronicity having just finished this and looking for some verse to match my glass photo –
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I love that line, “– naked, he’s just an Adam from the birthing factory” so pertinent and easy to forget how tied we are to our pasts.
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belated thanks Brenda (family illness has absorbed most of my time) – was not quite happy with that line but then ‘the past is a foreign country’!
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Hope your family recovers.
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Thank you
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