Tuesday, January 25, 2011

MAGPIE/ Prompt #50


photo/ willow/ magpie tales



DOWNHILL/ This Way

My trail is empty again.
I take it and dream my way down,
skiing new powder,
going past a few tracks
that cut the hill
on the traverse.

I whisper a caution
now and then
to shadows rushing past me.

I fall and slide against a tree.
The snow goes up my nose
like a line of cocaine.
I sit there and sneeze
little ice balls,

fearing the crack I hear
to be my bones.
But a twig suffers the break.

I rise once more,
lean into the wind,
pretend my increasing speed
is what I wish,
and not the pull of gravity.

I appeal to good fortune;
please, don't send me to oblivion.


                                                  

@copyright/all rights reserved/2011


Thanks to Tess Kincaid for giving me the opportunity to resurrect a poem I had published in 2008.  It's just a bit revised, something I should do more often...and hope for the best!





34 comments:

  1. I love this trip down the slope! I'm with you all the way xxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. lovely Lyn and your photo added perfect for this piece...blessings to you for taking on the cold air...and snow....be safe...bkm

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Jeane-
    Thanks..then we can stop off for a hot chocolate!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi bkm-
    I haven't done the slopes this year, but there's plenty of cold air here this winter..enough for me..thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. When i started reading this poem the first thing i thought of was is there a tree involved and sure enough there was, but i didn't expect the snow goes up my nose like a line of cocaine i call that a very good comparison indeed, very enjoyable once again.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Windsmoke-
    Very interesting comment..I thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've never been on skis but this took me there!
    Well Done

    ReplyDelete
  8. One of the reasons why I like poetry, and especially free verse where rhyme has been cast aside in favour of free-flow, is that it triggers images in my mind that sometimes are unrelated to the poem as such. Yours did just that with these lines:

    'I fall and slide against a tree.
    The snow goes up my nose
    like a line of cocaine.
    I sit there and sneeze
    little ice balls'

    I suddenly thought of Tory Amos's "She's Your Cocaine". Go figure. That was a cracking poem.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi madamebutterfly-
    Thank you..I've always felt that skiing is a perfect experience in many ways..

    ReplyDelete
  10. Greetings to a Cuban-
    You are more than kind..such good company! I think poetry, like skiing, should let us wander!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. pretend my increasing speed
    is what I wish,
    and not the pull of gravity

    Like fighting against fate?!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Jinksy-
    You've got it exactly...for me anyway. One tries to be in total contol..but...Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've been there - not for a number of years, but an unforgettable descent. Nicely done - vivid and immediate.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Dick-
    Thanks..yes, those were the days!Nowadays, more sedentary!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. "...dream my way down" Love-love it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Tess-
    Thank you..skiing was a dream for this city kid..I was free to fly!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. what a unique take.

    have fun dreaming your way down the hill.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Jingle-
    Thank you..it is a wonderful time!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm glad to go with you rather than try it on my own! Nice poem...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Tumblewords-
    You're certainly invited to come along!...Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Perfect revisit, fits well with the hill, the trip not to oblivion.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Reflections-
    Thanks, Reflections...many times I've asked, what am I doing here..being on a mountain!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Very nice piece that glides along smoothly, painting a vivid picture of something I'm far too terrified to even think about doing.:_)

    Enjoyed the vicarious thrills.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks for transporting me to your ski slopes, lovely piece with great imagery.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi hedgewitch-
    Thank you..it's sort of vicarious for me too at this point!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Brigid-
    Skiing is one thing that's lived up to my expectations..thanks for dropping by...

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi 120 Socks-
    Glad you could join me!! Thanks..

    ReplyDelete
  28. I've never ever been skiiing, yet I feel like I have after reading your poem.

    ReplyDelete
  29. oh I worried about trees too
    But you gave us a thrill ride instead....it is skill not gravity

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi Sioux-
    Thank you..I'm so happy that I could do that and you came along!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi Suz-
    Thanks..sometimes the skill seems to slip away!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Downhill.. yeah.. a perfect take..
    nothing matters.. and the picture, it fits..

    Not sure if you still remember me..

    I have been away.. yeah, after finding you with my poem 'Walk with me'.. Do you still remember?

    I had a fall, an injured foot and a bad ankle.. am recovering now thus the return..

    See you around, yeah?

    S.Pike

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi Krislin Neo-
    So glad you're back..no skiing for you..take care and will see around now!!

    ReplyDelete

Enter! So happy that you're here. I read every comment, will answer, and look forward to meeting you. Welcome!