for Writers Island
At the hotel the dog is always the same,
it's the people who are different, and the coffee
is different, and the waitress calling me hon'.
In the harbor the sunrise is always the same,
it's the fog hanging in the trees
that's different, and the tide, flood then ebb
then flood, and the boats, listing, leaving,
getting ready. On the breakwater the rocks
are always the same, it’s the crabbers
standing on the pier who are different,
and the coffee, and the dog
watching godwits on the beach sleep
with one eye open. In Tokeland the fog
is always the same, what's different
is how close it gets to the hotel at night.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Tokeland
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11 comments:
very atmospheric! I particularly like the ending. I always like how you bring specific birds into so many of your poems
those line breaks are beautifully done - flood then ebb then flood...the form fits the words fit the form in a satisfyingly circular way
I like this very much -- it creates some wonderful images. As Juliet said, I also like the ending very much.
I'm with Juliet and the birds.
You make is look so effortless, the rounding back to hotels and dogs...the people as changable. Good take on the prompt.
Thanks for the comments. Sometimes 'effortless' is easy and sometimes it's work. I go to Tokeland frequently for breakfast at the hotel and then birding at the marina, so I'm writing about a very familiar place, which makes it almost effortless. I'm glad you appreciate the ending, most of the work was on the last line.
this was excellent... i have no familiarity with a place like this right now.. and it does cause one to long for that......
Tokeland?
Is that what I think it is?
Yeah. It is.
Don't bogart this prompt.
xo
Blue
Great work. The images, the way the words are placed on the page, the line breaks, the simplicity. Your work always leaves me lingering a moment to read a couple of more times.
Gillian: Tokeland is a town adjacent to the Shoalwater Reservation on the north shore of Willipa Bay.
Lovely free-wheeling words that bring Tokeland to life. Fine work, as always!
Fantastic! There's such a flow to it, like the tide. Really takes me there.
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