Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Tea and sunflower seeds

***

The art of waiting

A glass of tea, leaves
drift and settle after a sip;

I crack open
a sunflower seed

taste the bitter sweet kernel,
toss the brittle husk into a bowl

measuring time
in empty shells

until I hear your key
turning in the door,

picked up the evening paper,
pretend I wasn't bored.


***Inspired by CygnetSeven's photo: Thru Tea.


Been a bit distracted lately (see gaming blog), though I did manage a few drafts last weekend that looked promising.

This one is submitted to dVerse Open Link Night #13 -- I've been looking forward to participating again.

36 comments:

Victoria said...

Raven, this is so easy to experience with the narrator. I like your attention to detail...tossing the shells into the dish. Those are the things that make a poem jump to life, in my opinion.

Brian Miller said...

ha. yes....i miss mine too when she was gone...and have to pass time..i need to try counting sunflower shells...smiles.

Pat Hatt said...

Glad you can curb your boredom somehow haha, nice bit of verse.

Mark Kerstetter said...

I agree with Victoria. Like a Japanese drawing, you give clear images with just a few strokes - adding something of the flavor of this relationship.

Anonymous said...

Tea is haunting me this evening: I just read Hedgewitch's tea piece, I got an invitation to tea at the Brown Palace while I was reading it, and now here you are writing of tea :). I love this poem, it reminds me of what you do so well in your writing, your intense observation of these quiet moments. You have a gaming blog? How did I miss this? I'm off to look for the link and maybe make some tea :)!

Ravenblack said...

Victoria, Brian Pat, Mark, Anna: thanks for your comments and feedback. :)

Anna: Yes, video games and mobile gaming is my other obsession. :D Less Than Average Gamer (in my profile) is where I occasionally blog about the games I play.

Claudia said...

such a beautiful capture of a moment...measuring time in empty shells is a great image...time can get long when we miss someone..smiles

Anonymous said...

I liked the way you mention small details all flowing to form a sweet poem .. Nice write and I think today at dVerse its tea flavored beer .. hahaha!!

Divya said...

Dunno why i comment got posted as Anonymous...I am posting it again...
I liked the way you mention small details all flowing to form a sweet poem .. Nice write and I think today at dVerse its tea flavored beer .. hahaha!!

Lisa said...

Hi, I enjoyed the poem and the ending was cute.

Anonymous said...

The games we play (the waiting game in this one)... I think you really managed to capture the feeling in this one and enjoyed reading it! Can't remember ever tasting a sunflower seed, though so I suppose I have to go try that at some point. *smile*

Laurie Kolp said...

Beautiful capture of love's timeless essence.

Ravenblack said...

Thank you for the comments, everyone. I am grateful for your visits and feedback.

Claudia: :) It's interesting how sometimes we can't do anything when we really miss someone.

Divya: I saw that Hedgewitch had written something about tea as well. :) And I liked her poem very much. Tea-flavored beer -- that would be interesting!

CC: yes you should give those sunflower seeds a try. I'm warning you though -- they can be very addictive.

hedgewitch said...

I really like this--reality (sunflowerseeds) versus our little fronts we put up. I've seen several poems about tea out there this time--we all must be on the same wavelength--that and it's a ritual that comes with the lovely cooling weather, a true fall and winter pleasure. An excellently crafted poem, Ravenblack.

Sheila said...

a very clear and concise vingnette. nicely penned.

dsnake1 said...

hey, this is a poem i really like. i like how you weave the details in the words (and there are really not too many words in the poem). this is one poem which i would like to say "i wish i had written this".

it also reminds me how i used to crack melon seeds in a cinema to kill time (that was ages ago). :)

Unknown said...

Raven, really good job at capturing the moment and love that little nuance at the end. On the subtler side- I love the positioning on the first line- tea, leaves very nicely done

ayala said...

Nice.... Sometimes I do that too :)

Ann LeFlore said...

yah it does suck to sit around and wait for someone then try and pretend you were not waiting for them great job
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/10/11/the-day-of-the-dead/#comment-1682

Ravenblack said...

Hedgewitch, Shelia, Fred, dsnake, ayala, Ann: I'm really grateful for all your wonderful comments. Thank you all.


Hedgewitch: I did notice some similar themes -- tea, and the other one is clocks, and also "13" because of OLN #13. :D

dsnake: yeah i used to like those melon seeds too, and I didn't care they gave me a sore throat after, they are responsible for chipped teeth! Unhealthy things are the most delicious.

Anonymous said...

Alone time.... I love it, but it's true how when someone comes home we want to act like we weren't bored without them....... that's kind of funny...

Ravenblack said...

Yes it is kinda funny. :) Thanks for the visit, John.

The Orange Tree said...

awesome piece, tea and sunflower, these constitute amazing imagery.

Daydreamertoo said...

A moment enjoyed is never wasted. it saw you create this simple but lovely image filled piece.

Mary said...

I love the realness of this. With such succinctness.

Steve King said...

What wonderful, tasteful understatement...it all serves to let us see the artistry in the thought process here. The small pieces you include make it all the more real. I enjoyed this piece.

Anonymous said...

Lovely! Universal.

Ravenblack said...

Orange Tree, Daydreamer, Mary, Steve and manicdaily: thanks for your comments. I'm happy you all like it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Raven.... I just wanted to say thank you for visiting my recent poem, johnallenrichter.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/abandoned-beauty/ and, but I was wondering about the comment you left there... I love poetry, and believe that every poem has its own life and breath, and each one finds its own meanings in the hearts of so many different people. Your comment was so, well, very different that I wasn't sure exactly how you interpreted my poem. I'm hoping that I can convince you to expand on that just a little bit. I'm really interested in how you see that, Raven... Thanks again...

Luke Prater said...

Very nice... couplets are so appealing and give plenty of breathing space...

Ravenblack said...

John: of course. :) I know you are talking about a house, but you've given it such character, I thought you were using it to represent a person. I will post this on your blog also.

Luke: thanks!

gautami tripathy said...

You gave life to boredom....

stolen moments

Liz Rice-Sosne said...

MOST EXCELLENT!. I truly love tea time and fine tea.

Ravenblack said...

Thank you, Old Raven. I enjoy tea time in any tradition too. :)

Anonymous said...

This poem makes me not only feel, but taste the waiting - short-line couplets, tea sipped, a sunflower seed cracked and its bitter-sweetness sampled... I love

measuring time
in empty shells


Beautiful altogether.

Ravenblack said...

Thank you, turtlememoir, glad you like. :)