Ephemera
Time drips off its pendulum from three to four to five,
trickling off the minutes that we’ve been alive.
Vapid little seconds are flung off with each tick,
hardly ever noticed as their passing is so quick.
The richest man on earth cannot buy more than he’s accorded.
Hours can’t be put in storage and so they can’t be hoarded.
Days can’t be the building blocks of a fine estate,
for they are just chalk marks wiped daily off our slate.
Prompt words today are trickle, pendulum, storage, vapid and estate. Illustration: The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali.
Yes, so very true. Great poem Judy
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The perfect poem for a Salvador Dali painting. Well done, Judy.
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Pretty poem and so true!
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Beautifully poignant. Did the idea of this poem make you think of Using Dali’s painting to illustrate it did ‘Melting Clocks’ inspire the poem? As a curious cat, I want to know what came first.
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I used the painting to illustrate the poem, not the other way around, but the painting was perfect, I think.
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It was – that’s why I asked. Every time I visit the Dali museum in St Pete, FL, I can stand in front of it for hours; I literally get lost in it.
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I had a signed Dali litho that I bought when I sold my house in 1983, but I sold it when I moved to Mexico. I went to his museum in Figueres, Spain twice and loved it. Then spent some time in Cadequez where he lived but never saw him there, of course. The town, however, was charming.
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Lucky you! See me turning green with envy.
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I grew up looking at & coming back to the “Painting” entry (50 pages!) in my beloved World Book Encyclopedia. Dali’s Persistence of Memory was one of the photos I always lingered on. (I was 10-14 years old at that time.)
I first visited New York in 1973 with my lifetime bff, and he got us to the Museum of Modern Art with a couple of his friends. I wandered away from our group to explore the art on my own. I wandered into room after room, in awe of what I saw hanging on the walls. In one room I had to stoop to see a small, low-hung painting. Yes, it was Persistence of Memory! One of the paintings that had mesmerized me for years! I had no idea it was so small (9.5 by 13 inches, according to Wikipedia). That sight alone was worth the trip. (Well, I was almost brought to tears at the sight of The Starry Night there as well (and also a surprise). But that’s another story.)
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I was intrigued by Dali, as well.
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I thank you for sharing, and yes, it does have the same effect on me.
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Interesting because… is longevity the goal?
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Not the primary one, but if you are living a life you love, most probably you’d desire the most time to enjoy it.
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I love how you use the prompts, you inspire me to try poetry again!
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I love that my poem had that effect on you, Tiffany. The prompts make it a fun challenge.
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