A Cage of Colors




wikipaintings
Seated Woman with Bent Knee, 1917
Egon Schiele





I hold myself in abeyance
my stories strewn upon walls 
by fingernails too porous for contemplation,
in streams of colors from an unseen palette.

As I watch,
 the stories shift.
Patterns emerge in blues and greens
within the seams left there 
by some carpenter or other,
a master at the construction
of love's fairy tales.
They always seem to find the you
I keep locked inside,
the you I wanted to hold with me,
the you that fled
my cage of colors.

I hold myself in abeyance
my stories strewn upon walls,
upon the walls,
upon the w
upon the
upon
u


.

copyright/all rights reserved Audrey Howitt 2014

Posted for Poets United.

Comments

  1. what a cool close on this...the fading away....and we know what it says because it repeats the beginning so it enhances the effect.....the middle is quite emotive...esp when we translate those love stories through our own experience.

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  2. Your writing is so gorgeous Audrey and I agree with Brian (he always leaves the best comments and beats me to them lol)

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  3. Painting a picture in your own beautiful style. You are a talent my friend. Have a wonderful Sunday.

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  4. "They always seem to find the you
    I keep locked inside," - how we keep it inside and in the end... they fade away.

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  5. I really like the way you brought this poem to conclusion, Audrey. Your words, as well as the visual. A very effective poem and presentation!

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  6. "I hold myself in abeyance"...i like this dispassionate view of one's own self, a bit detached, like an observer...love the middle part where there's a vision of the core and and also the sadness in the end.....

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  7. This is an interesting write. I, too, like the face out at the end. Cool.

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  8. Which came first? The romantic tales or life? I like the mobias strip effect here as they fold together.

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  9. I feel the pent up creative energy in this and, I know from experience one almost has to detach and hold oneself in abeyance in order to move through it. Brilliant writing, Audrey!

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  10. Very beautiful writing, Audrey. What a pleasure to read your words :)

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  11. The closing.. I can sense the wall.. how often aren't the walls that suffocate around us.. and the stories are kept within.. very good effect of telling the story.

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  12. This is a sad commentary of the loss of a loved one. It is very difficult to completely write someone out of your life.

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  13. This is a deeply psychological portrait - stories can be very revealing, especially when one places oneself in the narrative.

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  14. Yikes! Not only was it a wonderful piece, the style, at least for me, is an awesome platform to present it on. Bravo!
    ZQ

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  15. This can mean an artist whose in a room by himself locked there while the walls around him are messed up with his manic episodes which he has concluded as his artistry...sorry but that's what this poem which is beautiful seems to say beneath. love it!

    Jamztoma
    jamztoma.blogspot.com

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  16. Oh, I love the shifting stories...and your readiness to expose them on the wall! I sometimes imagine my unpainted arts fill the emptiness of almost white walls....oh, it's another story ~ thanks for commenting on my poems, sorry it took so long to come visit your work! Glad I did it! Thanks :)x

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  17. Very effective write and layout. Deep loss can make us feel we are fading out.

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  18. This poem is a must to be read out-loud pronouncing each syllable right down to the final u then period. The abeyance, the I don't want to say it, then saying it, then saying it exactly. Powerful!

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  19. A lovely poem written in a very effective form; as if the end lines are echoing off those walls. Lovely. :-)

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  20. Love the form you chose for this wonderful poem.

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  21. i'm new to your site. saw you on Sherry Marr's blog. i like to visit those that are new to me.
    this piece seems to encapsulate, peripherally, your profile ...poet, singer, voice teacher, recovering attorney, psycho-therapist...

    wonder for self portrait

    gracias for sharing and letting me visit
    have a wonderfully fulfilling day

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  22. Hi Audrey, could you send me your email address. Blogger has this weird glitch that some people's comments don't come through in an email notification. Thanks Kathryn :)

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  23. Yes, there are things so deeply etched. Excellent poem, Audrey, and I too love the shape.

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  24. Beautifully expressed sentiments. Loved it.

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