Monday, March 02, 2009

Calling the Names

A brief editorial note (though when I teach literature, I always say--never trust the poet to explain what she means)--I too frequently have conversations where I am saying something and--poof--just like that, the specific reference I wanted to make LEAVES my brain. It slips past my tongue without being said, and my brain refuses to re-supply it to my tongue. Until hours later--when I blurt it out.

Herewith such a conversation--of sort--in poetic form. An original poem for you, dear readers.

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CALLING THE NAMES

I call out the names in random fashion
Black & Decker
Truman Capote
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. . .
They have no connection to present reality
But short hours ago, they did.

We were strolling past some stores
Noting now vacant store fronts
And murmured--that's where. . .was--
But in that moment the name fled.

And then I wanted to remark
About an actor who had done a marvelous job
Portraying that writer
You know, the one who wrote
In Cold Blood
But the name refused to surface.

I read a recent article
That caught my attention
An explanation of Alzheimers
Prions are implicated
As in Jakob-Creutzfeldt
And you said--oh, that's like mad cow disease
But I knew that wasn't it.
But what? No name.

Then at midnight
The names arrive
And I call them out
Black & Decker
Truman Capote
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. . .


But you are asleep
So tomorrow I will
Call the names
Without repeating the conversations
And you will understand.

© KGMom 2009

8 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

I find it so comforting to know that I'm not alone in this. :)

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Donna this is wonderful!

I UNDERSTAND!!!!

amarkonmywall said...

Ah- this is wonderful. Lucky day that I stop by here and find this poem. You capture the slip-sliding of words perfectly.

Jayne said...

Lovely Donna.

Mary C said...

Written so well - apparently many of us can identify with the same feelings and thoughts, and probably could not express it as well as you did. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Great poem - I can totally relate to this! Sometimes I don't wait until tomorrow to call out the names, though. I'm afraid they will have escaped me by then, so every once in a while, Mr. Geek is roused from sleep by me calling out "marmot!"

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Don't you hate that!!!!

(at least they still come to you, though!)

possumlady said...

This is great!! Sometimes I can't even come up with a word I'm looking for when I'm talking to the cats!! Now THAT's bad...