Brenda Hillman wrote a brilliant poem called"Cleave and Cleave" which examines these words that sound and can be spelled the same but have opposite meanings. I'd like you to think of two words that are homonyms but mean different things. , e.g. lie and lie, stone and stone, bear and bear, write and right. Here is a complete list.
Think of an emotional situation in memory that these homonyms might speak to, then imagine yourself "encountering" each of these words separately, in concrete examples- e.g. you are writing your name on a blackboard as a child, over and over; the sun is spilling in the window, fading the slate as you write. you start to think about your "right" to be yourself, and you look at your self, the clothes you are wearing, your hands, etc...Then bring both words together at the poem's conclusion, like Hillman, who dramaticized the words' opposite meanings by ending with two strong sentences: You might say, e.g." I will write my name over and over on the glass." Then, "I will disappear: my right."
This poem is taken from The Practice of Poetry by Behn and Twichell.
Of Thyme and Time
ReplyDeleteMy mind is whisked
To a long time back,
A time that’s been yearned for
By this old wrinkled hack
I envision my mother
On a warm summers day
Cutting away and cutting
At the thyme for our supper, while I sit and play
And it appears in my mind that the thyme is like time
And the more that we cut away,
And the more we discard,
The more we wish for and long for the day
When life was perfection, and we were at play
But the more we go toward Judgment Day,
The more our lives get tossed away,
And the more we wish to be in that way-
The innocent, playful, child’s way
Like Thyme and Time,
We must protect
Those memories that
Fade to gray
Never let time pass you by
Or let those moments elude you,
But live your life in the very best way,
And never, ever let that time go away.
Troy Golding
ReplyDeleteBreak and Brake
I have just pulled out of the Grease Monkey parking lot
My smooth brakes hiss
Looking out onto an open road
Slightly cracked where tar was not laid
The road scattered with roaming trash and random birds
I pause at the intersection and glance down the street
Picture the rush hour traffic in not only an hour
Sweating in their cars just wanting to make it home
At the intersection
Birds fly from left to right, in a
Romantic pattern trying to find scraps of food
Suddenly it starts
People flock from work in a rush to get home
Cars nearly collide
Want may be extreme at some times
This time it was the want to come home
Suddenly two words of same sound take place
These words are brake and break
Cleary opposite meanings, meaning
A stopping device and to split apart
When two cars collide
Some slam on the brakes
When two cars collide
One car is on his afternoon break
To Alter or to Altar
ReplyDeleteTo alter or to altar
That is the question
Which are you seeking?
To change or to absolve
If you are reeking
You will alter your clothes
If you want to be forgiven
To the altar you go
Some may try to alter the altar
But that is not always the case
Sometimes it is the altar
Who alters those who try to change it
So which will it be?
To alter or to altar?
Duel vs Dual
ReplyDeleteTis confusion!
To duel with swords or have dual swords?
To fight is now a matter of speak
Either to fight for honor or have two things.
We shall duel for honor!
To have two for honor is this what you speak?
No you fool!
To fight for one's sake!
Then that with shall,
With dual swords I might add.
Of course with duel swords!
What else to fight with is there?
No! To have two swords is what I am saying.
To duel with dual swords will be the event!
To do what with what?
This is a riddle indeed......
Oh, forget this intolerable spelling!
Let's go for tea and forget this whole thing.
Did you see the sea?
ReplyDeleteI could see the magnificant sea
As it frothed in the dark of night
Every wave crashed down on golden sand
Forever a glorious sight
The sea sits watching
Almost an open storybook
There is so much it holds
Leaving you wanting another look
I could see the drifting clouds
Over the deep, dark abyss
The salty wind whips
With utter ocean bliss
The sea so peaceful
Yet crashing on the shore
The sun starts to appear
The night is no more.
The Garden
ReplyDeleteRoses and pansies and daises alike
Grass greener than green
And trees taller than life
Yet hidden within
Are weeds that
Choke, disrupt, and delight
In how they made
Us pull them
That dreadful summer
From dawn until night
We’d pull and we’d pull
Yet still to no avail
They’d stick and they’d stay
Till we couldn’t pull anymore
But now it is winter
And the weeds are long gone
Yet June will soon come
With the weeds tagging along
Do you see what I see?
ReplyDeleteThe sea rocking gently
Back and forth, beckoning you to come and play
And emerse yourself in its waters
Do you see what I see?
People splashing in the waves
Playing the wicked games of the sea
Dancing lightly in the water
Do you see what I see?
The moon glancing off the sea
White light skating on the surface
Reflecting the ended day to the sky
Do you see what I see?
The salt thick in the air
A taste that puckers your mouth
And a smell that wrinkles your nose
Do you see what I see?
The water crisp and clear
Cold and frigid
Waves crashing on the shore
Come...
Come to see the sea
The water whispers...
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ReplyDeleteI Will Always Be There
ReplyDeleteEvery day you look and see
The beautiful, salty ocean breeze
Feel me with you side by side
For that is what I want inside
Today I know that you are sad
But I will always be your dad
And to all the places you will go
I hope that you will always know
The sea is such a beautiful place
And that is where you’ll see my face.
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ReplyDeleteThe Sun and The Son
ReplyDeleteTake a walk outside and you shall see,
An inexplicable source of yellow beauty.
It gives us warmth, and energy for life,
Yet it stays so far, and leaves us at night.
What is it that the sun can earn,
When we have nothing to give in return?
A new baby boy is born everyday,
To parents who would give everything else away.
The boy takes food, and money too,
Yet it gives them joy, through and through.
Why do mother and father sacrifice,
Knowing that one day he will leave their sight?
The sun and the son,
The discussion is done.
One is a giver, the other a taker,
Yet in the end, they both give us warmth.
Some may say I’m quite odd
ReplyDeleteI don’t care, for those who mind don’t matter
And those who matter don’t mind
Peers might sometimes be awed
When they find out that I am flawed
But they say I am one of a kind
And I hope to be quite a find
An interest is held in art
It is not the kind most would find in their heart
My taste is very weird
It’s not always much cheered
One day they will see
That the awed are the odd
Their true selves one day they will be
When they eventually find their own key
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Cliques of Annoying
ReplyDeleteI catch my breath as I hear them coming down the halls,
Hoping they will pass me by like I am one of the blank walls.
But of course they do not.
It must have been the scent of fear they caught.
It is the mean girls who think they rule above all.
Everyone who looks their way feels powerless and small.
I must be brave I say,
As they turn and snarl my way.
As they pass, they look me up and down from head to toe,
It feels as though I am hosting the biggest loser show!
They are known as the clique at my school,
Everyone hear considers them to be cool.
The only image I envision when they surround me,
The sound their shoe makes when they address me as the ugly flea,
"Click, click ,click",
The sound those six inch shoes compose sounds like a tick.
Cliques are awful, cruel, and can boast.
The annoying sound their shoes make is what I hate the most!
"Click, click, click" repeated a thousand time again.
Do, Doe, Dough, Doh
ReplyDeleteDo, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do
Those are how those notes all go
One do is high, the other low,
Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do
A female deer is also a doe
Through the meadow to and fro,
Walking gingerly, though not slow
A female deer is also a doe
Money and batter are also dough
It could be cash for someone to stow
It's also batter for cookies you know,
Money and batter are also dough
Doh is also from a T.V. show
Spoken by Homer Simpson, yo
And that is the last doh I know
Doh is also from a T.V. show
Do, Doe, Dough, Doh
Those are all the do's I know
So this just goes to show
That there are lots of do's
The effect of aspects
ReplyDeleteAffect effects
Within human aspect
When effects affect and infect.
My grandmother tried to teach me to sew
ReplyDeleteAnd she strictly told me, “So,
This is where you start, and this is where you’re going.”
So I puzzled and contemplated, but found nothing mind blowing
I did so want to excel at this crazy invention
With a needle and thread I’d have my own creation
And I struggled with blood staining the nice white sheet
To find a way to accomplish said feat
I never prevailed and feared being booed
And I eventually changed my attitude
So I finally came to see
That the art of sewing is not for me
Once upon a far away time
ReplyDeleteThere laughed and ran
The little girl that was me
She sat out in the grass
I watched as she blew bubbles
From the little blue wand
And I wonder to myself
Where did she go
Wind blew through her tangled hair
Skinned knees black and blue
I’m afraid that I’ve lost
The freedom she had
The wild imagination
It seems that time blew past
Now everything is shaded blue
Whenever I feel lost
I look back, wishing she was me
I watch that little girl
With brown hair and chubby cheeks
She blew the dandelions
Watched the world with little blue eyes
Presents of Presence
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little girl
Sitting, wishing, waiting, and being free,
I couldn't help but wonder about
All the presents beneath the tree.
Presents gave joy,
More than any new friendship could.
When we were all little
Receiving presents meant more than it should.
Real presents are in the presence
Of the person you love.
They can never be broken or torn or ripped
And true devotion you can't be freed of.
The presence of feeling
And moments and memories
Is like finding a shoebox of photographs
Or a warm summer breeze.
When the day brings new things,
When life hands you love,
When the moonlight sings,
When the sun shines from above.
Feelings like these
Don't come from gifts.
They come from people and life,
And taking time, not being too swift.
While presents are nice,
They'll one day be gone.
The meaningful presents
Are found in presence alone.
I'm Awed by Odd Things
ReplyDeleteMany are awed by the crashing of the waves
Or the setting of the sun
Or the blooming of a flower
That's only just begun
I am awed by the odd things
The creation of bubbles
The movement of fish
The makeup in movies
The placement of food on a dish
The prints in the sand
Along the beach side
The spinning of the teacups
At an amusement park ride
The people that can write poems
The people that can draw
The hopping of a bunny
The weaving of straw
I am awed by all of these odd things
In Sight
ReplyDeleteNot long ago it came into sight,
the site of my troubles, that place of my plight.
Some problem I had, a moment I passed,
which has troubled my mind, a time in the past.
Never forgotten, that period of strife,
That phase of great trouble, in my mind as a knife.
It always will burn me, never out of my mind,
Tormenting my soul, like an unbreakable bind.
So not long ago it came into sight,
the site of my troubles, that place of my plight.
A moment ago, unlike any before,
a thought that could end it, one worth fighting for.
I can't believe how faux you've are
ReplyDeleteYou left my heart all torn up
Covered in scar upon scar.
I have created a foe
Will I recover
I do not know.
Although the baron was wealthy and rich
ReplyDeleteHis wife was barren from fertility
For she could not obtain aural sounds
But she could speak oral words
She could not climb the butte
But her husband beaut appearance encouraged her.
She canvassed her husband’s canvas
Searching for the battle woulds.
Wary of her husband’s antics
She planned a trip on a wherry.
As she basked in solace
She attributed her baron as soulless.
As they rowed on the high seas
She seized him to the end of the wherry.
Where she told a story of a rigger
Who worked with quite rigor.
And after he rigged with rigor
He poured out of his pores his reasons for being poor
And blamed the baron, his employer.
For being inaudible, she told the story quite well
For he became soulful and knew
He would not behold her the same.
The Blue that Blew Me Away
ReplyDeleteRunning along the blue waters of the beach
Breathing silently to my own rhythm
Rushing of waves receding
Blue sky
Blue water
Blue
Salt and sand tangled in my hair
As I blew out a puff of air
Wind blowing in my face
Blew out warm air
Into the cold icy emptiness
Blew
Running in a rhythm in a foreign blue land
The cold yet inviting wind blew me away
The blue of the water and sky
Blew me away
A Piece of Peace
ReplyDeleteWhether a piece of pie
or a piece of land
The hope of the world lies
in all of our hands
The friendships we make
is what lives in the heart
The extra step we take
for connections we start
Nations make Peace together
for goodwill will flow
The Peace in a simple feather
for alliance to grow
We are the Pieces to the puzzle
A million to chart
The Pieces come together
That is Peace in the heart
Is whom who is baited,
ReplyDeleteStuck and trapped,
Forgotten through personal desires,
Belittled to extremes,
No one can possibly see,
How reduced to a speck.
A human which is baited,
Completely reduced,
Diminished and forgotten,
Ultimately bated.
The Key and Quay
ReplyDeleteStanding as if a lighthouse
Feet stuck fast to the dampened boards,
I see birds with their sails fly over the water.
The quay with it’s breeze
And it’s sun-sharpened waves,
Is the key to my heart-
What I love.
It unlocked my wonder at six years old
Slipping from the slick quay
Salt-spray high as I slid through it’s waters.
Floating in the deep with a mind full of numb
Sinking as I felt the sharp key
Felt the sting like coral and I was on fire.
The cold gentle key of the quay on the water
Sliding into my heart
And I loved it.
Of Bear and Bare
ReplyDeleteThis weight I have to bear
The world crashing down on my shoulders
I must stay strong
I am alone
And so tired
So tired of bearing
This world
And I am left on my own
I look around to nothingness
Empty, lonely
Used, abandoned
There is nothing left
It is simply
Bare
The Cord of Chords
ReplyDeleteA three part harmony
such a joyous noise,
the chord is woven strong and steady-
a cord of rope, intertwined and ready.
As it is strung through the melodies
the chord rings aloud standing on its own,
molding the piece like the sand in sandstone.
The cord now wrought tight
brings in a sound of one voice
to hold the music together,
for all ears to rejoice.
SPD
ReplyDeleteTick, tick, tick
The wretched noise slices through the air
It hits my ear drum and only continues to persist
Slips past the others as they obliviously carry on
I seem to be the only one to hear it
It sets me on edge
Forcing me to clench my fists and stay silent
A catalyst to my anxiety
My tic is set off
Hands are now shaking
Legs spasm, sending me spiraling into a state of panic
And the ticking keeps going and going, on and on
Stimuli tauntingly haunts wherever I may go
Perhaps the press of bodies in overcrowded hallways
The dizzying illusions shaped in the shadows
But always the tick, tick, tick
Soar and Sore
ReplyDeleteIn a dream I was a seagull
My soul was filled with crystal light
Lavender ribbons of wind blew
Giving me strength and taking flight.
I woke to find I had no wings
I could not see the graceful shore,
Left feeling senseless and hollow
Yearning for the power to soar.
All day recalling the lovely dream
Looking down at the ocean floor.
I will never be a seagull
Reality hit, my spirit was sore.
The birds above fly so freely
Never tied down by obligations.
I want to carelessly fly with them
And every day pick a new destination.
My soul is sore, my patience weak,
All I want is to soar over the seven seas.
Ail from Ale
ReplyDeleteThere was a party, no one wanted to go
The people who ran it were not very old
The drinks served there were not very safe
And now all the kids are home sick with throat’s chafe
It doesn’t seem right that this accident happened
The parents were cross, the kids whipped in the rear end
The people who ran it were taken to jail
And the kids who attended were at home to ail
Beer and wine and underage drinking
All left the kids to headaches and weeping
And all the boys who never did leave
Lived their lives no longer naive
Fairy vs. Ferry
ReplyDeleteOne floats and flies,
The other gives joy rides.
One tinkles like a bell,
The other has a funny fishy smell!
One is very small;
The other is not small at all!
One plays and laughs and giggles,
The other is in water with fishes that wiggles!
One sparkles like a star,
The other will take you to places far!
Fairy vs. Ferry,
Would you prefer to fly or be carried?
The life I live the acts I’ve made
ReplyDeleteThose decisions hang over me like an ax blade
The choices I’ve made right from wrong
I write this poem the life I live is not to long
I've been accused of a crime
I know I will be put in for quite some time
I accept the sentence because I know I'm guilty
I sit here in this cell a 4 by 4 room that's grimy and filthy
I can't revert on my past life
I just wish I could have said I love you to my wife
I will not see her or my son again
A dreary idea that I cannot accept
For what I did I do not deserve respect
This sentence is a dam that I cannot remove
I'm damned with this curse I will never move
I wish I could see my children grow old
But instead I'm here engulfed in a sea
A sea of despair regret and repentance
I know I'm facing the inevitable death sentence
Where oh where do I go?
ReplyDeleteWhat do I wear to the show?
I don't go there, that's not it
But I not need to throw a fit
Homophones are very fun
You can use them in a pun.
Homonym
ReplyDeleteone is composed of two, not three or four
one is a fruit around a core
one is full of laughter and cheer
the other has juicy pulp that is clear
one is full of companionship and friends
one hangs from a tree by the stem on its end
if I go somewhere I go in a pair
if I’m hungry I eat a pear
As I walk down the aisle of the food mart
ReplyDeleteI dream of an Isle that I can go to get a fresh new start
I am surronded by walls of food and clothes
where I just want to be next to a waterfall that flows
I grab a few peaches
I how I wish I could visit some beaches
I walk out of my local safeway
when I just want to be on a getaway
I hope that someday I can walk down the aisle
On a beutiful Hawaiian Isle.
There’s no such thing as a one-man team
ReplyDeleteOtherwise there would be no one to scream
And push you through the pain or there would be no gain
So go for it
Call all your best buds
And form a pact
Because there is no such thing as a one man team
The meet is over
The meet is won
Two teams have gone head to head
But now there’s no time left to go back
All that’s left is to celebrate and take a one-night break
There is no such thing as a one-man team
The meet is over and the meet is won