It's not always me that speaks,
I'm often just a borrowed word.
My conversation carries streaks;
echoes of the overheard.
.
I'm the translated remnant
of someone else's script.
A turn of phrase, a fragment,
through abbreviation clipped.
.
I'm a short handed message,
from a seven second grab;
a truncated passage ...
I'm today's cut and tomorrow's scab:
.
today's headline ... badly dismembered;
tomorrow's deadline ... barely remembered.
.
© Tim Grace, 23 October 2010 (Revised: 30 December 2021)
About the Creator
Tim Grace
A first impression has a lasting effect - it makes a notable difference. In a subtle way that’s who I am as a poet. A ‘first impression’ looking for the gentle ‘twist’ that draws attention to a novel observation.
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3:00 AM Challenge Winners
B. A. Durham’s False Memories blends dream and reality in a seamless mix. As his father, afflicted by Alzheimer’s, fades away, the narrator is haunted by a dream that may be a memory, returning to him insistently. The piece is full of wonderful detail (the father touching his lip where once there was a mustache, “but now he is clean-shaven—he has been for years” — and moving in revealing the complexities of a family’s life. A worthy winner which shows the power of dreams to influence us.
By Vocal Curation Team4 days ago in Resources
Comments (3)
I'm the translated remnant of someone else's script. I loved those lines the most! Fantastic poem!
To the reader: We hear and read so much of other voices; spin, hype and noise. We probably don't tune in to much of it but some of it grabs our attention and for a short while resonates through daily chatter. What grabs is the easily digested snippet, or factoid, that's neatly packed with interest and primed for repeatability. On the back of efficiency catch-phrases and headlines prove themselves robust and sturdy messengers of regurgitated script. To the poet: In keeping with the message, the structure of this sonnet is compressed into neat segments. Each bit begins with "I'm" as in: ... a borrowed word, ...a translated remnant, ...a short-handed message; a snippet. The coining of snappy phrases, easily re-used, is emphasised in the final couplet which borrows heavily from its own form and structure; wastes nothing new and does it with less.
I like this one, especially the rhymed couplet at the end (seems to say it all).