The distance within is greater than the distance without
no doubt and no surprise
I feel a vastness
like distances travelled on lazy Sunday afternoons
the way the light played on the pool
a foundness and a lostness
you’re gone now I know that I am mortal
the clock-tower tolls the hour
lulls me towards my fenced-in end
still no more I feel a sadness
knowing I’ll live on
in that measureless space
in which you loved me.
© Experimentsinfiction 2021, All Rights Reserved
Written for dVerse
Tonight, Sanaa is hosting Poetics, and she has provided us with 12 minimalist photos courtesy of South Sound Minimalist Photos, founded by Glenn A. Buttkus. She challenges us to do the following:
…select one out of the twelve photographs shared above and write a poem. It can be an Ekphrastic poem, if you like. Go philosophical. Go dark or romantic or solemn. Share what you feel about Minimalist photography when you see it. The idea here is to provoke an emotion, and what better way to pour them out rather than poetry?
In addition to this, Glenn has provided some poetic prose to get us started. I chose the following:
- 12. Clock Tower:
“From my cage, I could clearly see the clock tower, and at times it made me weep.”
Quote and featured image courtesy of Glenn A. Buttkus.
I love how you paint the emptiness of loss as a prison of what’s been… maybe there is no stronger fence than our memories.
Thank you Björn: I think you may be right!
We are like a human tardis, so much more space inside. Your last line is the best case scenario.
‘Human tardis’ – I like that 😊
🙂
Oh this is incredibly evocative, Ingrid! I can visualize the scene which you have painted here, especially love; “the clock-tower tolls the hour lulls me towards my fenced-in end, still no more I feel a sadness knowing I’ll live on,”… such emotion in these lines. We will always have memories. Thank you so much for writing to the prompt 💝💝
Thank you for providing such an inspiring prompt Sanaa ❤️
I am reminded of nostalgic Italy in this poem for no other reason other than the pictures the lazy Sunday afternoons and clock tower brought to mind. A lovely piece, Ingrid!
I think it looks like Italy too – kind of fits with my poem from yesterday!
without
no doubt
wonderful.
Ahh, shucks Nick! Thank you x
So beautiful and poignant!
Thank you Lucy!
This is absolutely beautiful….the clock tower reference strikes at the heart of the loss as it strikes the hour. Beautiful poem inspired by Glenn’s photo.
Thank you Lillian. It made me think of Italy, though now I learn it’s in Tacoma!
The first line is so powerful and the loves measureless space makes all distances crossable. Wonderful, Ingrid.
Thank you K. 🙏
That last stanza pulls at the heartstrings! This image really is cool! 💕
It is isn’t it 🤩
So beautiful Ingrid!! Stunning and thought provoking. ❤️
Thank you 😊
Excellent! Loved the ‘measureless space’ of our souls!
Thank you Susan!
This is the old clock tower in Tacoma, WA. I really like how this inspired you. Very Zen, that the solution to most problems is an inside job, inner space, introspection. I liked “the way the light played on the pool, aa foundness and a lostness.” Melancholy trumped by spirituality; loved it–thank you.
Thank you Glenn! It looked like Italy to me, which I think is what inspired me to write something romantic. It’s a great picture.
So achingly sad Ingrid. I felt the emptiness and hopelessness of someone incarcerated 😢
I’m pleased you got that Christine, as I did have actual physical incarceration in mind!
Yes we have ways to escape our own prison but they do not. Heartbreaking 💔
I love the feeling of transcending space that comes through even though there is the fenced-in-ness. This line, though – I feel a vastness / like distances travelled on lazy Sunday afternoons. Beautiful <3
Thank you Sunra ❤️
A captivating and creative intro, Ingrid. Of course the rest captured me too. 😊
Thank you Michele 🙏❤️🙏
This is a wonderful poem Ingrid! Your contrasts are great. The distance within is greater than the distance without … what a great observation and opening line.
Thanks Dwight: I get some great lines during meditation 😊
:>)
Heartbreaking but beautiful!♥
Thank you Sonali 🙏
Most welcome! ♥♥
in that measureless space
in which you loved me.
Love the way you relate the imprisonment of love with hourly reminder of the clock-tower in the background. Perfectly made for the prompt, Ingrid!
Hank
Thank you Hank!
Aww, we all need to bask in that kind of understanding. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Selma 😊
great creativity, you wrote to that pic awesomely … from internal vastness to love’s measureless space. Inner space is incredibly vast and we can choose to fill it with positive memories of love or more harmful ones
the range of responses here clearly indicate how we each interpret your poem and Glenn’s photo …
Thank you Kate. I did get the opening lines during meditation.
aha then you are meditating well! Once you get a ‘taste’ you truly know the blessing 🙂
A glimmer of hope for this broken heart perhaps?
At least some kind of inner peace!
Melancholy, and yet there is a touch of serenity too. The mortal and the eternal. (K)
Thank you Kerfe, I tried to encapsulate both.
I feel sadness, sweetness, regret all rolled into one exquisite ‘ball of poetry’!
‘ball of poetry’ – I love it, kind of like the ‘wall of sound,’ which I also love 🙂
Such a lovely, moving response Ingrid. I don’t know if you were thinking of your own lost loved ones, but that’s what I got from it. I considered responding to this one, too. Time, as measured in hours, days, and years is sort of an artificial concept that we’ve constructed. Memories are timeless.
“in that measureless space
in which you loved me.”
Thank you Merril for your kind words 😊
“A founders and a lostness” 👏 👏 👏 beautiful, and so sad.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, thank you!