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True Story

General Poetry - post, comment, review, critique
indar
Posts: 2908
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

True Story

Post by indar » Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:30 am

We buried two Penguin Paperbacks,
an orange yoyo with no string
and the rock with white stripes
in a shoe box
in the vacant lot
next to the iron pipe
left standing when the house
next door to Rita's
was torn down.

We waited--
for what, I wonder--
tension mounted
finally we agreed to dig it up
but it was gone.

poet-e
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Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2019 3:10 pm

Re: True Story

Post by poet-e » Mon Feb 24, 2020 10:46 am

Time capsule?

Ironic twist end!

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Colm Roe
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Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 12:45 am

Re: True Story

Post by Colm Roe » Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:52 pm

Fab and sad poem Linda.
I don't see a time capsule...I see hope buried like a seed; only to be lost, completely!

Tim J Brennan

Re: True Story

Post by Tim J Brennan » Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:10 am

Well, if it's true, maybe some sort of time reference might help. But maybe it doesn't matter.

I kept thinking of Boo Radley and him putting the stuff into the crook of the tree for Jem to find.

Dave
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Re: True Story

Post by Dave » Tue Feb 25, 2020 9:46 am

I enjoyed this, especially the close. It speaks to the both the inquisitive in us all and to the conceited. The ending has an almost religious feel to it, closing with mystery.

Dave

indar
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Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Re: True Story

Post by indar » Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:06 am

Thank you both, Colm and Tim,

I'm not certain what this is about. It is a true story written about something I remember from early childhood. There must be some developmental stage during which mystery plays an important role. I remember an almost reverential attitude toward the neon-outlined flying red horse in our neighborhood. I once took a jar of milk and some orange segments to a nearby church that had a blue glass cross embedded in the sign out front and rather ceremonially ate the food in front of it.

I have no explanation for these things but I think of Rachel Carson's book title A Sense of Wonder. She talks about how we tend to lose it as we mature and pleads a case for reclaiming it. That might explain the sense of sadness you detect Colm.

Rita and I really did bury that shoe box and shared that secret but like all secrets they often drive the keepers nuts. It really was missing. She had older brothers---my best guess is they observed us and dug it up later. But it was a unanswerable mystery at the time. Tim I'm not certain what you mean about the timeframe but I would have been about 6 years old. 1940s

Well, Dave, you snuck a post in ahead of my explanation and nailed it. It probably took you a lot less time than it did me. Perceptive. Thank you.

 

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Tracy Mitchell
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Re: True Story

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:33 am

'Penguin books' -- I recall when they were plentiful, inexpensive, and entertaining.  In those days an orange yo-yo without a string was still something -- made of translucent plastic -- something still very new for toys.  The collection builds with the unique rock, and goes into the shoebox.  It is a warming story lived by countless kids. 

I see this as a story of first stirrings of the search for meaning, and a fledgling reach to ritual.  As kids with no possessions to which the world  would ascribe value, the N. and Rita found, made and believed in their own.  They created value, and then wondered what to do with it.  The burying of the box feels like ritual done to honor or acknowledge their cache.  Then, after recognizing and paying some form of tribute -- the curiosity.  

This presents the girls' experiment in how the world works.  Their experiment gives them an inconclusive result.  Which, in the grand scheme of things, is pretty telling.   :)

Love it, Indar.

T
 

indar
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Re: True Story

Post by indar » Tue Feb 25, 2020 11:33 am

Thank you T., 

A thoughtful and insightful review as usual from you:

first stirrings of the search for meaning, and a fledgling reach to ritual

Absolutely. My early fascination with things I identify now as symbols and rituals might explain why I chose to stick with the visual arts despite everyone warning me against it
:) :shock: :) :shock:

Matty11
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Re: True Story

Post by Matty11 » Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:05 am

Insightful comments by Dave and Tracy. It is a poem that resonates and triggers thoughts. On a mundane note I wondered who took the 'treasured' items! I suspect Rita :D I wondered if you could work the title more, the poems rings true without that title, but then I suppose you don't want to restrict the reader's thoughts.

muchly enjoyed

Phil

indar
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Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Re: True Story

Post by indar » Wed Feb 26, 2020 7:55 am

Thank you Phil,

I mentioned in an earlier reply that Rita had older brothers. I now suspect they might have been the culprits. But our speculation reveals our cynicism :D :D

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