the apprentice

Published on by Laura Bloomsbury

Words of a poem should be glass
But glass so simple-subtle its shape

Robert Francis ~ Glass
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

37 thoughts on “the apprentice”

  1. 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.

    1. am glowing in a whirlwind after your wonderful words – many thank yous Donna

  4. Regally hued from the rarest dyes – all we can do is offer our own simple words as we progress through the art of wordsmithing.

  5. “and yet what waste are words as works of hand when fished from lexiconic lakes” ..gosh such beautiful use of language here!😍💖

  6. 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.

    1. It is reassuring to have limitations and know where and what they are – appreciate your words Björn

  8. 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.

    1. Many thanks Mary – Better than novice because the apprentice is committed!

  9. 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.

    1. the experimental bit helps our creativity though I do not like to stray too far from fundamentals

  10. 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

  11. For us I believe “la mot à la mode” is “C’est notre vie”.
    Marcher joyeusement 🙂
    ZQ

    1. merci ZQ – though my favourite poetry is more marcher tristement

  12. 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.

    1. 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

  16. 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.

    1. 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 –

    1. 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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