The Jar Beneath My Tongue
By Henjansson (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I keep my disappointment in a jar beneath my tongue
and I let it roll around there sometimes
just to see what it tastes like.
Sometimes when I am feeling alone
I take it out,
check its color,
its veneer--
--bright blue lapis.
Today it slides easily
from one side to another
and a coolness seeps out--
cucumber and mint.
It isn't what I expect of disappointment really.
I had thought a bitter flavor,
or spicy,
so I could feel my anger.
Today as it slips and rolls
in its coolness
I wonder if anger will come
or will its coolness soothe~
copyright/all rights reserved Audrey Howitt 2012
Come join us at Dverse today 3:00 EST. Pull up a poem or two.
Come join us at Dverse today 3:00 EST. Pull up a poem or two.
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I love this!!!
ReplyDeleteWow... a jar beneath my tongue. Wish I would have thought of that.
Great write my friend!!
Hey Becky--thank you so much! Enjoy the pub today!
DeleteI like this. Keeping your disappointment contained within a jar :) Being of the emotional-brain type, I wish I could keep a lid on mine. I can taste iron from the blood, where my jar has shattered on my soft palate. Nice to read a poem about emotion. Great read, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the read and comments Samantha! Enjoy the pup!
DeleteOh this is exquisite writing.
ReplyDeleteExpecting one taste only to discover another. Bitterness eventually would make everything taste sour I expect.
Thank you Bren for reading--your piece is sad and I wish your sister well--
DeleteWhat a terrific outlook: like a gob-stopper, revealing shades of pain.
ReplyDeleteI adore this idea. I wonder if your voice sounds plummy on days when disappointment is huge :-)
Thank you hannah!
DeleteI bet you found the cooling sootheness and went off to play ukulele in the shade!
ReplyDeleteVery good metaphor that jar under your tongue! Well done indeed, Audrey.
Thanks Jannie! Fun write actually---
Deleteway to bring it to life... nice
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by and reading it--greatly appreciated!
DeleteReally loved the way this mingled and conflated sensory stimuli and emotions, colors and thoughts--to me it suggests the lack of grasp we have on the intricacies of our own dilemmas really well, and also the idea that it's all something to savor, to taste, to evaluate like a wine-tasting.
ReplyDeleteThank you hedgewitch! I guess I do think that the "negative" emotions all bear sitting with and examining--
DeleteI love this piece. It's images are different and yet roll off the tongue like the most normal thing that could occur! This is the magic it truly holds. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you Elizabeth!
DeleteLearning to live with disappointment requires a real understanding of what it is, how else do we know if we can bear it? It always surprises me the lengths we sometimes go to in avoiding a feeling, sometimes making a greater mess in the process. This was insightful and well written, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI think it was M. Scott Peck who said that most of the real pain in the world is caused by trying to avoid it in the first place--thank you so much for reading and commenting!
DeleteI know exactly what you mean! Great write, Audrey!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I am glad that you enjoyed it!
DeleteSuch beautiful, beautiful writing to describe disappointment, Audrey! I don't think I'd mind mine if it came in that shape, color and scent/flavor. Such expression! Loved.
ReplyDeleteThank you Hannah--Thank you so much on all levels!
DeleteI love this... the first stanza especially... amazing!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Laurie!
DeleteI like the taste and feel of this...very well presented ~
ReplyDeleteThank you Heaven! Loved your piece as well this week!
DeleteIt comes to us all, keeping it contained in a jar is a great way to look at it. As it is there, but not out on display causing us too much pain.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pat! And it does visit us all--
DeleteWow, Audrey. I love the idea you've put out there with this one. You've really captured the conflict between the expectation of things and the reality of them when we finally meet the experience. Great piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you Emma--thanks so much for reading and commenting--so much appreciated!
DeleteAbsolutely love everything about this!
ReplyDeleteStunnnig imagery, unique and inviting, your description is outstanding in this one, a fav! xoxo
Thank you so much Poppy!
Deleteooo i really like the end in pondering which it brings...this is a great verse...love the opening with it in a jar under your tongue...and taking it out to examine it periodically...
ReplyDeleteThank you Brian!! Cheers!
DeleteThis is very very cool. The beginning just takes off and never lets up. So imaginitive and stunning in its simplicity. Just delightful, bringing in its wake a sense of awe at how life brings with it such openness to things that we never expect. Delightful, rich, beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Charles!
DeleteI love this....Today as it slips and rolls
ReplyDeletein its coolness
I wonder if anger will come
or will its coolness soothe~just awesome!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you ayala! I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
Deleteha - i like...cucumber and mint..disappointment def. has a taste...and probably changes its taste like a chamaeleon..what i like here is that you give this feeling a "face" because usually it's something so abstract and hard to grasp..
ReplyDeleteI think in terms of colors and flavors I think---Thank you so much!
DeleteVery interesting, and very cool poem. I've never thought of how anger tastes like, I would imagine it would be a hot taste, scalding into tastelessness. But "sweet" would for sure be the antidote.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Quirina--I would also imagine anger as hot--spicy
DeleteI'm in love with this! Great poem Audrey! Thanks for sharing! ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you Bradley!
DeleteThis is fantastic! It has such a mysterious optimism to it. :)
ReplyDeleteI have thought about his comment--and I think it describes me--mysteriously optimistic! Thank you so much Rachel!
DeleteIntriguing imagery illuminates this brilliant write with very arresting juxtapositions. Superb job!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much James! Greatly appreciated~
DeleteI really enjoy poetry like this- using tangable images to convey emotion. Enjoy the way you describe the emotion in terms of flavour and taste- unsual! but in a good way. Also strangely optimistic- will anger come? does anger always come as a result of dissapointment? these are intersting questions you ask.
ReplyDeleteThank you Stu! I do think I am a strangely optimistic sort--
DeleteA very interesting image, thoughtfully explored. Thanks. K.
ReplyDeleteOne way to be in control is to compartmentalize. And a jar is just as well.The image is fantastic, very psychedelic!
ReplyDeleteHank
Thank you Hank!
DeleteThe taste of disappointment - it's an awesome way to look at it :) LOVE THIS...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Robert!
DeleteOh yes. I love the way you explore the taste of disappointment. We often hear that you can taste it, but I've never heard the taste described in such wonderful, and various, detail! Great write.
ReplyDeleteThank you Andrew--I hadn't thought about that adage in the writing--but it must have been tucked away in my mind somewhere--
DeleteOne of the most inventive poems I've read lately. Taking a feeling, giving it taste and texture (and a secret place as well). Just stunning.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!!
DeleteAudrey! This is fantastic! So very unique in its play...Lord knows we've all written poems about disappointment...but it's a delight to see one get so intimate with it...just a great share!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Natasha!
DeleteWow, I really like this!! :) So well written and beautifully expressed feelings.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the read and comments kweschn!
DeleteI like the way this came about. Definitely a new perspective, the coolness I like that a lot. Really creative and very nicely done, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you Fred!
DeleteI hope you are discovering other sites to place your lovely work Audrey. There are quite a number that I place mine on different weekdays.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely comment today, made me smile.
Thank you Bren! I am slowly making my way through I think--thank you so much for all your help~
Delete'as it slips and rolls'... really love those last lines!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ashley!
DeleteAll too easily, the tendency to deal with disappointments is to get rid of it as soon as possible. Flunk it outside, or try to hammer it to little pieces. Examining it in a jar, with such fascination holds the narrator, with curiosity observes it. Very interesting and insightful write.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ravenblack!
DeleteOh the jar under ones tongue can tell a lot about character. I've hidden and rolled one often around mine and sometimes it fell out and crashed to the floor in front of me in disgust. Anger, laughter and sorrow hides in one of them. I spit that jar out often as my Muse smacks me on my back to spew it forth. When I find sweetness, laughter, joy I quickly look for my flowered design jar and savor and roll it around with delight and pray it will stay awhile. I loved this work Audrey, a real delight to read and it sure caught my attention.
ReplyDeleteThanks Vincent! Much appreciated!
DeleteWow what a great way to describe disappointment I wish my imagination were as vivid as yours.
ReplyDeleteFinding your comment just now Ann--thank you!
DeleteGood work, Audrey. Thanks or sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you Justin!
DeleteThis was great!
ReplyDeleteHi Susan--thank you!!
DeleteGreat one Audrey!
ReplyDeleteThank you Christy!
DeleteLove the poem, you make us taste the decision before we make any.. .listen to feelings and sensations, before taking it to head...and everyone has that special place for taster...Innovative, inspiring!
ReplyDelete