Shisan: My Aching Back (Links #9 – #10)

What a rush of poems Link #9 has unlocked… 13 poems from 9 poets, each of them with the ability to take the poem by the scruff of the neck and change its course forever.

So many of the images here startle on first reading – Carly’s ‘cigarette mouth’ slaps the senses good and proper; Cindy’s ‘head on collision’ shakes the entire body; and Nigel’s ‘behind teeth’ seethes with the rage of a whole season’s storms.

Other poems creep up on you – Carly’s ‘I look to the husband’ settles with a slow weight; Andrew’s ‘aaaahhhh’ is delightfully sonorous; Lyndon’s ‘filtered sunlight’ holds you in its claustrophobia; Andy’s ‘broken shell’ reveals a subtle pattern, Miguel’s ‘skeleton’ sings an unsettling song; and Mal’s ‘river’ rusts our dreams.

Some poems such as John’s ‘Stonehenge’ have a boldness, a willingness to experiment with form and content.

A fine pool of poems to dive into… so just which poem did I bring to the surface to become the next pearl in our shisan?

It was a tough decision… in my head I have been juggling three poems: Carly’s ‘I look to the husband’, Cindy’s ‘recalling’ and Nigel’s ‘behind teeth’, but in the end, the intensity of ‘behind teeth’ won me over.

Thank you to everyone for your poems; they are the engine that drives this poem.

Now we move into the final phase… So let’s open the call for Link #10. This time we are looking for 2 lines that bristle with love.

I am looking forward to the passion of these verses.

 

*****

My Aching Back: Shisan
Started: 15 May 2013 – Finished:
Written between: Matt Hetherington, Lyndon Norton, Ashley Capes, Lee-Anne Davie, Chris Lynch, Mal Keeble, Chloe Callistemon, John Wainwright, Nigel Ellis,

Side 1 – jo – preface

Link #1 (3 lines) – hokku (autumn)

my aching back
a leaf falls
from a branch

(Matt Hetherington)

Link #2 (2 lines) – wakiku (autumn)

as I put down the rake
the sky darkens

(Lyndon Norton)

Link #3 (3 lines) – daisan (non seasonal)

in the shed
removing a dropcloth
from old paintings

(Ashley Capes)

Side 2 – ha part one – development

Link #4 (2 lines) – winter  moon

gravy smears the dinner plate
winter moon

(Lee-Anne Davie)

Link #5 (3 lines) – non seasonal

I regret
the light switch
cockroaches

(Chris Lynch)

Link #6 (2 lines) – non seasonal

the old dog dreams
of the chase

(Mal Keeble)

Side 3 – ha part two – intensification

Link #7 (3 lines) – spring blossom

the puppy
pisses on all
the daffodils

(Chloe Callistemon)

Link #8 (2 lines) – spring

spring shower
yolk burst on the tongue

(John Wainwright)

Link #9 (3 lines) – non seasonal

behind teeth
a storm gathers
I cannot swallow this

(Nigel Ellis)

Side 4 – kyu – finale

Link #10 (2 lines)- non seasonal, love verse
Link #11 (3 lines) – non seasonal, love verse
Link #12 (2 lines) – ageku (summer)

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