Thursday, October 26, 2006

My Inspiration

Today is Thursday, which must mean poetry. As of 1.00pm today I hadn't written anything at all, but was driven by a desire to do something other than work, train or socialise. I haven't been giving my creative self enough attention lately.

Thankfully this week's prompt involved me writing from a place where I gain my inspiration. I'm embarrassed to say (especially when I know people from work read this) that most of my writing takes place at my desk. So I decided to choose something I could see from my desk to write about. I looked out of the window and spotted the wind turbine in the distance, spinning away in the seasonal wind.

While slightly OT, my other inspiration at the moment is my yeti husband. Hamish snuck his way into this poem without asking for permission. I was surprised to find him there, but decided to let him stay.

In the end I did get to see him before he got on the ferry, but only because he called asking me to come and pick our car up from the terminal. The storms we have been experiencing all year resulted in 9 metre swells and a 10 and a half hour journey (the Strait crossing normally takes around 3 hours) for some unfortunate passengers a couple of days ago, and Hamish is by now about to leave Wellington harbour on the very same ship.

Me, I'm sitting here with a weekend alone, an array of group classes at Les Mills, an IBook and 5 girly DVDs stretching out in front of me.

Afternoon at the Office
The wind turbine is
Facing North West today,
Its eggshell-coloured form
Barely visible against
Low cloud racing across
The sky.

I am thinking about you and
Your leaving and not about
The Word document opened
In front of me. I keep you
Minimised at the bottom of my
Screen to entertain me.

The paper debris of too many
Projects lies windblown, scattered
By a breeze risen from
These turbulent thoughts.

Tonight you sail,
Shake hands with the gales,
Make a pact for safe passage.
You don’t know how far
You will go or when you will
Return and a quirk of timing
Means I will not see you
Before you leave.

The turbine will act as
My scout. I will breath
Warm whispers in its direction
Until it turns South to
Face your return.

My sentry can stand and
Keep watch until you
Are safe in harbour and
On your way back
To me.



13 comments:

Catherine said...

Oh, I really like this! That would be the wind turbine at the top of Brooklyn hill? We lived on that hill, but the turbine wasn't built until after we left. I do hope Hamish has a safe journey

Crafty Green Poet said...

Lovelpy poem. I love how the wind turbine is there all the time in the poem, combining with your turbulent thoughts to scatter yoru papers. I hope Hamish had a safe journey , the weather sounds pretty wild!

Pip said...

That would indeed be the turbine on Brooklyn hill. We lived on Mitchell Street, on the main route to the turbine, before moving out to Mornington a couple of years ago. I still look over to check what direction the wind is blowing in on my way to work each morning!

As for Hamish's journey - he should be arriving in Picton soon. Luckily the weather has been much calmer today, and Hamish has a strong stomach!

WS Poetry said...

Nice work building up from the turbine. Favorite line:

"I keep you
Minimised at the bottom of my
Screen to entertain me."

Love it! Cheers, Nic

Crunchy Weta said...

Its funny how we do things like...
ØShake hands with the gales,
Make a pact for safe passageØ
nice write
Cheers
Glenn

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

How adventurous it all sounds, Pip & besides I think you're a clever poet.

Anonymous said...

I am so pleased to find out about so many other articulate and well-crafted poets with day jobs.

Thanks for this one...

Anonymous said...

I really like the interspersal of wind in all of your thoughts here - and like Nic I also loved the line "I keep you
Minimised at the bottom of my
Screen to entertain me."
- so perfect.

Natalie said...

My sentry can stand and
Keep watch until you
Are safe in harbour and
On your way back
To me.

Great finish. I love the way you notice how your htoughts about work are overtaken by your thoughts for him. Thanks.

madd said...

I liked so many things about this poem..the turbine throughout..your sentry..the paper debris..even the intro..great, my yeti husband, snuck his way in..great! I do hope he is safe and sound, and thank you for sharing..m

Michelle said...

This poem is lovely. I like how the turbine works as a motif.

michelle said...

Wonderful! It's as if the turbine you see outside your window has entered the space in your office.

Also, impeccable diction. Turbine & turbulence are perfect choices.

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