Oh, God. Oh, God. My hair. My hair! The government gave me bad hair!

Cordelia ,'The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco'


The Great Write Way  

A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.


Pix - Jun 17, 2004 5:21:50 pm PDT #5292 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.

Can I cheat and post another fruit-themed poem since I didn't realize drabbles were open-format?

I'm taking the silence in this nice little posting box as enthusiastic support for this idea.

Here it is:

Grapes

I am trapped by a memory--
hands slipping across my body,
peeling off resistance
like the fragile skin of fruit.

I am raw remembering it,
shivering without my skin;
naked as a newborn.

Old grapes grow to wine.
Your memory is like that;
intoxicating, sweet, bitter.


Edited to fix line breaks


Polter-Cow - Jun 17, 2004 5:25:09 pm PDT #5293 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

I complimented you once tonight; I'm not allowed to do it again, dammit.


Pix - Jun 17, 2004 5:29:58 pm PDT #5294 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.

The only thing I'm really ambivalent about in this poem is the cliche "naked as a newborn". I want the word naked in that line but am not sure if there is a better way to express the vulnerabilty I want to convey.

And P-C...thanks for the Not!compliment.


Polter-Cow - Jun 17, 2004 5:33:36 pm PDT #5295 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

I want the word naked in that line but am not sure if there is a better way to express the vulnerabilty I want to convey.

Mole rat? The eye? Leslie Nielsen's gun?

I'm not helping, am I.


Ginger - Jun 17, 2004 5:39:49 pm PDT #5296 of 10001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

Just some wild brainstorming:

I am raw remembering it,
shivering without my skin;
unclothed, uncovered.

I am raw remembering it,
shivering without my skin;
exposed nerves twitching.

I am raw remembering it,
shivering without my skin;
flinching from a breath of air.


JohnSweden - Jun 17, 2004 5:43:59 pm PDT #5297 of 10001
I can't even.

intoxicating, sweet, bitter.

Ow. Very nice. That last made me have to catch my breath.

Yes, it might be stronger without the cliche. Something tactile again, hinting at the rawness? Sorry I don't have a more useful suggestion.


Pix - Jun 17, 2004 5:48:51 pm PDT #5298 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.

Thank you for brainstorming with me!

I really want that word "naked"...

Maybe..

I am raw remembering it,
shivering without my skin;
naked and exposed.

-ETA: or I could bring in the "you" from the last stanza...

"naked to his touch"

or something???


Polter-Cow - Jun 17, 2004 5:50:12 pm PDT #5299 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

Works for me.


Ginger - Jun 17, 2004 5:57:10 pm PDT #5300 of 10001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

"naked in his grip"

Maybe "naked against his touch"? Grip seems a little strong, considering that we'd end up with smushed grapes. (Naked against his stomping feet. Okay, Ginger, it's time to shut up.)


Pix - Jun 17, 2004 6:09:59 pm PDT #5301 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.

Hee! Ginger, no don't stop. You're helping! Actually, I already had gone back and edited that word in that post because I agreed with you. I had suggested "naked to his touch" and then cringed--overdone--

but JohnSweden just suggested "naked to that touch", which I really like and conveys exactly what I wanted to convey--a sense of being made this vulnerable only by that one person.

So...final draft:

Grapes

I am trapped by a memory—
hands slipping across my body,
peeling off resistance
like the fragile skin of fruit.

I am raw remembering it,
shivering without my skin;
naked to that touch.

Old grapes grow to wine.
Your memory is like that;
intoxicating, sweet, bitter.


Yay. Thank you! I have literally been working on various incarnations of this poem for years, and I finally feel like it is done.