Surfaces
I do not denigrate the surface of things–
that outer shell that holds back all
that might otherwise leak out and fade away:
the snapshots and the clay cup,
the crude paintings on the refrigerator by a naïve hand,
the roses scattered to complete the collage
of a life composed of surfaces:
your hard muscled arms,
the curve of the brush,
the sharp steel of the edge that cut
you out and then back into my life
in silhouettes that, lacking one dimension,
revealed so much more.
Surface meaning is an oxymoron.
Surfaces are never the meanings themselves;
but instead, like a cup, they hold our lives.
Without surfaces the world would be but an idea,
and perhaps not even that.
Who knows but that ideas themselves are surfaces,
clinging to protons and neutrons and quarks.
She is only on the surface?? Impossible—
perhaps just unable to convey what lies beneath,
for every surface of the world lies deep as well.
The leaves have a deeper significance,
as does the sonata and the sonnet.
It is when we do not look beneath the surface
that we fail to see what is connected beneath.
Always, always, a surface is an ocean you can swim in.
It is outer space and inner space.
Geometry tells us that a surface
has only two dimensions, like a square,
yet boxes are comprised of squares.
Everything in our world is more complex
than some would make it out to be,
and surfaces are both doors
and invitations asking us to enter.
Please join me at open link night to post a poem, read some poems or do both at: https://dversepoets.com/2016/08/11/open-link-night-177/
I do love the thought about surfaces… after all the surface is where the action is.. the surface is a disruption, is where we meet… and sometimes depth is just a hollow repetition.
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A very interesting observation, Bjorn. It was fun to think about this topic. I wrote a totally different poem, but then rethought the subject and ended with this one.
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Beautiful. Lots of layers below the surfaces.
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I enjoyed reading your thoughts on surfaces. I hadn’t really thought about the subject but can see that there are different perspectives. A surface can be where it all happens and then too where it simply is the “doorway” to more. Interesting!
Thank you for joining in with dVerse Poets today for Open Link Night. It is our custom to link our poems back to dVerse (like you did for The Daily Post). We would appreciate it.
Gayle ~
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My first time here Judy and admire the penetrating quality of your work – I shall be back for more… With Best Wishes Scott http://www.scotthastie.com
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I love your line, “They cling to the wild beast in their heads,” I think that is what all poets and artists do. I enjoy your work as well.
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Profound and beautiful. So much meaning. I love this!
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Thanks, Sailaja.
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Brilliant conjectures and imagery–both in photo and words.
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Thanks, Victoria.
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Physics and math lessons are now clashing with one another in my head! However, deeper than that your poem leaves me with the notion that nothing is ever as it seems, and upon further investigation we only discover that me must still go deeper.
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I know. Even Science keeps learning this, I believe. The universe is so complex that anything is just a stab at trying to ascertain the truth…and I think some of those truths are better understood through art and poetry than through science–at least according to the way my brain works. Thanks so much for your comments, K..
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Interesting poem about surfaces deftly touching on physics and mathematics. Very poetic as well!
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Thanks, Kanzen
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Beautiful imagery, I especially like the cups and paintings that remind me of children.
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In my case they are my nieces, the children of friends and a little girl who used to show at the art center where I curated shows 16 years ago!! I still have her art up on my fridge.
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“and surfaces are both doors
and invitations asking us to enter.”
Lovely! Yes, they are. 🙂
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Thanks, Maria.
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the sharp steel of the edge that cut
you out and then back into my life
in silhouettes that, lacking one dimension,
revealed so much more.
Beautifully haunting!! Its going to stay with me ❤
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Thanks, Sanaa.
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What a wonderful look at surfaces – but even more, an invitation to look deeper
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Thanks, Bryan.
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Surface can be deceiving, even if it’s transparent – nobody knows what’s beneath, but that should not keep us from digging deeper – lovely poem 🙂
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Thanks, Maja.
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A thoughtful, interesting poem. You hit the nail on the head, I believe.
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