I walked all day. Hoping it would rub off.
I don’t know
Why.
The wind through the budding trees, like the sound of an escalator
On mute. If not for uncertainty, what hope would there be in masks?
Celestial sidewalks. My house number is prime.
On further review, the call on the field stands.
Uneven sidewalks
Make the best puddles.
naïve haircuts 
I love this!
It is pure whimsy, with a bit of esoterica thrown in.
Yeah, that whole ‘writer’s block’ thing has its grip on me, too–much like this past winter did.
The transition from the wind (like the sound of an escalator on mute :)) to
Celestial sidewalks
really carried me away. I LOVE THAT. It’s so simple, but I think it’s a stoke of real genius, because I can nearly see you walking (a moving sidewalk?) through the budding trees, or maybe just at the tips of the treetops. To me, this is an example of an almost Lewis Carroll-like absurdity and wisdom.
And then
My house number is prime. Esoteric, and inviting, like the scent of baking bread in the next room. It makes me wonder in a good way.
You carry all this fun and beauty through to the final stanza….
Uneven sidewalks
Make the best puddles.
I see you skipping! I think the cracks are puddles, or the lack of puddle is a playful call for rain.
…the call on the field stands. I see standing water, or wild roses with that line. I think the final stanza is a call back to the puddles. Read it and weep (tears or rain)!
Good to see you posting again.
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Thank you so much Holly! Yes, this writer’s block is terrible. If it is affecting you too, you definitely have my sympathy. I’m so glad this reminded you of Lewis Carrol. I am making my way through the Alice books. I just finished Wonderland and now I’m into Through the Looking Glass. Uneven sidewalks always collect the most water after the rain. So they make the best puddles! And definitely worth jumping in.
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Just jumping into the comment puddle to say that I too am big “Alice” fan. I have an entire shelf ( right at the top of my bookshelf) dedicated to Alice and her adventures. There are so many beautiful editions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, so I’ve taken to collecting them. My favourites are the vintage editions- especially the ones with amazing illsutrations.
Anyway, pardon the random butting in. I’ve followed your blog for a little while, but had a rather huge break from WordPress World, so it may not be obvious. Happy writing! ( hope you’re chipping away at that block) .
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Thank you Noircotic.Your collection of Alice books sounds fantastic. The edition I have has some illustrations. And I do enjoy them very much. Glad you jumped into the conversation!
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I agree with Holly’s comments. I really like this poem. These two lines grab me:
If not for uncertainty, what hope would there be in masks?
and
Uneven sidewalks
Make the best puddles.
🙂
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Thank you Worms!
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Block is a funny ailment; I wonder if we should turn it on its head and recognise that we are all ‘blocked’ all the time, only relieved when we find or utter or map or stitch or dance-round-or-with our next creative piece; the ‘block’ is usual-life, where things-is-what-they-is allthetime, unremittingly, where we cannot transcend it or liberate ourselves from it as we have done in the past (when we could create); I know I compound my block by looking/writing in the way I did when I wrote my last best piece – leaves me unsatisfied and annoyed – I suppose because I am mimicking the utterance or mapping or stitching or dancing I am not actually uttering, mapping, stitching or dancing, and it is the uttering/mapping/stitching/dancing that liberates from things-is-what-they-is-all-the-time … we have to do/be/see differently in order to trigger our block-release;
which I guess, Bob, is why you ‘walked all day’, why you needed to walkallday: exercising your mapping skills with what you encounter on the way; the little I have read your work puts me in mind of the early Steve Ditko portrayal of Dr. Strange in ‘other dimensions’ that had no ground, only kaleidoscopic skies, but that a clump of ground would just be there wherever Strange stepped and he only knew he had walked/travelled anywhere when looking back over the clumps of step relative to the sky: your pieces seem unrelated on first read, it is only on an over/under-view where they are related … mapped
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I do wonder about that, and if you are onto something with us being “blocked” all the time. Maybe that feeling is what pushes us? To ge beyond the everyday map we are familiar with. I really like the idea of walkallday as a form of mapping, or remapping. Thank you for the wonderful comment!
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Hey Bob, well, i guess, it’s best to keep writing, no matter what, and you’ve solved the struggle, by writing about the struggle to keep writing. Reminds me of the hitters in slumps and the hitting instructors advice to trust the process which i guess means, keep going, it’s bound to turn at some point, seeing eye singles? in any case, as always, a mind bender this poem of yours. Great job….”the sound of an escalator on mute” forever with me.
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Thanks Steve! I love the baseball analogy of slumping hitters and writer’s block. And I think the hitter instructors are right, trust the process. Thanks for the wonderful comment!
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there are some great lines in this one, Bob: the one about masks, the other about sidewalks : celestial and other wise —
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Thanks John!
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There’s something about the image of an “escalator on mute” that grabs me. I love this. Well done!
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Thank you Usedlife!
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“Celestial sidewalks. My house number is prime.” I love this. I imagined No. 13 first 🙂
“Uneven sidewalks
Make the best puddles.” – I agree! Of course I would, my face is a puddle.
Great poem. Makes me think of the book Poem Crazy where the writer goes on poem walks and explains her thought process behind it. It takes all the pressure out of writing the poem because the walk is the poem. Kind of like when land artists go on an “art walk.” Anyway, it had me in min dof that.
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Thanks Sunra! I am not familiar with Poem Crazy. But it sounds interesting. I think I’ll check it out. I’m glad you liked the post. My house number isn’t 13, but I think it would be fun if it was.
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You’re welcome 🙂 This is the book I mean. It’s a very easy read and not particularly cerebral at all, and very inspiring (I thought anyway). It makes you want to pick up your pen and paper and start writing right away because it’s full of so many good ideas.
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Awesome. Thank you so much!!
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