Monday September 7th, 2009

The exercise:

I think it's time to get musically inspired again. So take the first line of any song you like and use it as the first line of your poem or prose.

Include the song and artist you use - both for giving credit where it's due and because I like seeing what everybody is listening to :)

Mine:

Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead


A green plastic watering can
Lies abandoned in the garden -
Full of acid rainwater now,
As worthless as a rusted plough.
The weeds have claimed it as their own,
Like your coffin will claim your bones.

From the curtained kitchen window
Fading eyes think of seeds to sow,
While fingers stiffened by the years
Yearn to touch soil instead of tears.
But spring has been lost to them both,
Overtaken by winter's growth.

So the garden slowly decays
While she dreams of her summer days.

3 comments:

Greg said...

That's beautiful, Marc! I know the song you're referencing, and the words fit the sentiment conveyed by the music really well. I like the last couplet in particular.

Tom Waits: the ocean doesn't want me today

The ocean doesn't want me today,
Green waves reject me and push me away,
Seaweed fingers tremble goodbyes,
And salt-water drips from my eyes.

The ocean doesn't want me today,
It's told me quite clearly I must go away,
I walk back alone across the white sand,
Stuck on unwelcoming land.

g2 (la pianista irlandesa) said...

Geek in the Pink, Jason Mraz
(I don't know how to link in text, so here's the link outright: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X_AgLfpndM)

"Well, let the geek in the pink take a stab at it," came the quiet suggestion from the back of the room. Everyone turned to look towards the center of the room, at the bright-eyed figure fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt of deep salmon. She glanced around the room at her peers as they muttered amongst themselves, finally giving their approval.

She hopped down from her desk and stood before the white board, examining the equation. She paced, mumbling to herself, occasionally scribbling a figure on the side. It was a peculiar scene to the rest present, but if it was going to solve the problem they would've let her stand on her head and sing in Yiddish without bothering her.

Finally she clapped her hands in an epiphany. In a flurry of marker she tore the equation apart, quickly dividing this, multiplying out that, and taking the square root of the other, until the previously-fearsome equation cowered, trembling, at the bottom of the board, reduced to mere two digits.

Those in the room gasped in awe and wonder. The geek dusted off her hands, satisfied.

"When in doubt," she said, "the answer's usually 42. I had it figured out this whole time."

"Then why didn't you tell us?"

She smiled, smoothing the sleeve of her pink shirt. "It's nice when one's assistance is requested every once in a while."
- - - - -
And that appears to be that.

Marc said...

Greg - thanks very much :)

That's a great first line to use. Wonderful image here:

"Seaweed fingers tremble goodbyes,"

g2 - first reaction: that's not really a song, is it?

second reaction: haha, awesome.

third reaction: this is my favorite line ""When in doubt," she said, "the answer's usually 42. I had it figured out this whole time.""

Although the Yiddish bit was great too :)

Catchy tune too.