Animate objects

Even filing cabinets have feelings,

so too the carpet trod carelessly

underfoot; the purse or wallet that

knows your PIN, but never tells.

It's why children talk to teddy bears,

and sticks picked up from forest floors

become Superhero ray guns; or magic 

wands that make wishes come true;

And why cars won't start on really 

cold mornings and mountains move 

with the times; how a house becomes
a home and pencils guide the poet's hand.   

But most of all, it's the knowing.

The sense that everything lives,

as early morning dew spotlights

the intricate weave of spider webs 

and fallen leaves come alive, to dance

in chorus line with the music of the wind.

It's matter, absorbing emotion, 

the impalpable motion of time 

as we ebb and flow like liquid 

in a different, parallel world.

Suspended in frozen belief; only 

becoming free, when once again,

Prometheus steals fire from 

the heavens, and this time, 

animates everything.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh Beccy...i had to smile when i read this....i certainly relate to what you have said here...
i have this crazy habit (and just keep this between you and me) of bumping into furniture and saying "excuse me"---
or dropping a utensil on the floor in the kitchen and saying "sorry"---
i guess i live in Tolkien's world where everything is alive....everything.
Such a clever piece.
j.

[Beccy]

You're not alone jacob. I have actually caught myself apologising to the contents of a kitchen cupboard, as I close the door and shut out what little light they were enjoying. :))

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This is wonderful; the resurrection of animism through the written word (although I suspect it's never been completely dead)...why do we argue with inanimate objects or praise them for doing well? I've been known to pat my car on the dash and give her a "good girl" when she responds as I like. We get frustrated at machinery and all the old sea captains called every ship a she as well as having carved figureheads to replicate a living form. This is wonderfully composed and such a pleasure to read. Simply delightful.

[alanwgraham]

This is a quite wonderful poem Beccy. Your images of filing cabinets and pencils that guide the poets hand are magical. As a poet all things are possible and there could well be some deep truth that we are missing here and now (Gaia?) Also our forebears were wiser in ways that we have lost. As well as being full of wit and whimsy there is plenty of food for thought.
All the best,
Alan

[Robert Trakofler]

Glad to know I’m not the only one:) sometimes I buy a thing For selling at my store and I can just feel something... Almost like it’s talking to me:/ or I could of course Just be nutz:) But joking aside I believe so much of what you said in this everything has a resonance all matter is a particle and a wave simaltaneously

[Dave Brown]

I have often wondered what Mommy's jewelry feels like when Mommy's little darling, flushes it down the toilet

[Beccy]

Love your reply, but apologies for being a bit thick here; I haven't a clue what it means. Mommy? Mother Nature??

[Dave Brown]

ancient term............I came from one's tummy

[Beccy]

Oh. Have never heard that before. :))

[lakinbob]

This is such a unique take on things. Don't think I'll ever slam a filing cabinet draw in temper ever again.

Seriously good writing here Beccy, the last verse in particular is as good as poetry gets in my humble opinion.

[Norman 223]

Although the first impression of this poem was one of whimsical amusement, then ,on reflectionI I found myself reading more deeply into it's possible implications.
As I have, since a child, always associated music with colour sensations and patterns, which influences whether I like it or not, I immediately related your last stanza to this. Apparently, this "synesthaesia" can also affect taste , feel , or even response to the shape or sound of words. So the responses of your and Jacob's apologies may even have a scientific explanation - just thought I would put both your minds at rest!!......;-))

Norman

[Ken Simm.]

I do like this. It seems, for me, to cover everything. And it does it in such a gentle smiling way that it warms my heart.
If it helps I too have long involved converstions with the various inanimate objects. Actually its usually my paintings.

[Einstein Noodle]

beautiful .. my cup of tea ma'am! the world truly is alive all around us .. even the cold concrete of cities ... even the cities as an entity ... such a wonderful philosophical, scientific, romantic view of the world around us ..i really like
"and fallen leaves come alive, to dance
in chorus line with the music of the wind." .... and
"It's matter, absorbing emotion,
the impalpable motion of time"
reminds me of Donovan''s song "Happiness Runs" when he sings "Everybody is a part of everything anyway.."
https://youtu.be/-cGWTAe3M6U
i think your poem is a deep cleansing breath ;)
E.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Beccy... my favorite chair and pillow are my friends...
even the Book I read is speaking to me. You are so talented and
rearrange our thoughts in a gregarious sweet and endearing way. truly, Pat

[Paul Bell]

I suppose in essence everything is alive, and you're right, cars don't like cold weather. (Must admit, if someone had ever filmed me pleading with the car to start, then going mental when it didn't, it would be great viewing.) I think humans like talking to themselves, keeps us sane in an insane world. Don't you love it when you lose something, and the retort is always. '' Where did you lose it.''