Fortune Telling

It's been a while

 

In a moment bright light will come

And wash away the desire to paint the day

Replacing the banner of sky with a pinpoint of clarity

That makes the skin wither like a dried up grape

Raisin' the possibility of the specter of a dream

 

In deep shadow you will hide

In the anonymous past while all around you

The people move with the purpose of a school of fish

Wading in the shallows breathing heavy with intent

To avoid the net and the perils of the deep water

With the flash of fin and a scale of reason.

 

You will know the truth of canapés

And sample the pick ups for yourself

But you will not taste them.

Like a dog eating dinner there will be no satisfaction

Only feeding and ultimately a need to feed again

When the tongue misses all the flavors it could have

Without ever knowing what they are.

 

In a moment what you thought you knew

Will be replaced with ignorance and you will see

The look of pity in your daughter's eyes as you are deemed

Hopelessly out of touch yet not forgetting the feeling

Of being golden, of hopefulness like a toddler's tea party

Real if only you believe and then

You will find your future posted on a fine parchment note

With shabby handwriting and a left-hand slant.

Reviews

[Poeticpiers]

The look of pity in your daughters eyes a masterly line. The young of course know everything until experience teaches them otherwise.
WE must stand back and suffer them to make the mistakes we made when we too knew everything

[R J Askew]

You see more tones in our being than I do. I just blunder along in a narrow range of reason, missing much. This is one reason I enjoy reading your poems. The second verse if a cracker, speaking, at least to me of awkwardness. I was in precisely that position on Monday when I was at a uni open day with my dau. I ended up walking round with her and about 200 teens, but no parents. All the inadequacies I felt when I was 18 returned with the teens being the school of fish, every one of which knew their place. I just felt wrong and in the wrong place. Do some of us pass our entire lives feeling like that? My reason always exerts itself thought and -- being the cuttlefish I am -- I change my colour to suit the moment. Did you know we cuttles are known as the chameleons of the sea? This is not a way to contentment, but a sort of camauflage for inadequacy. Yes, I love that school of fish notion. Have yet to see anything near a look of pity in my dau's eyes though.

[Bubo]

In deep shadow you will hide
In the anonymous past while all around you
The people move with the purpose of a school of fish
Wading in the shallows breathing heavy with intent
To avoid the net and the perils of the deep water

Such clever metahpors, and imagination, and often how I see mankind, we are all hiding in a sense.
And the sense of regrets, I am unsure if you write this to your own father, but the message of what has been missed is strong.I love your writing.

[Fran Marie]

A very interesting and well crafted piece~nicely expressed~

Well DonE~Fran Marie

[Raef C. Boylan]

Some excellent similes throughout this piece; a lot of poets couldn't get away with repeating 'like' but yours are original and interesting enough for it not to grate at all. Attention paid to detail has paid off here.
I wasn't entirely sure whether the parchment note at the end indicated a will or a doctor's orders that the parent be placed in a home or...? And if it is a last will and testament, is the left-hand slant significant because the parent isn't left-handed i.e. the offspring has forged it?
As James says, there are sad elements of the inevitable to this poem - but the images catch our imaginations, uplifting enough to stop it from being depressing.
Great job. 'twas worth the wait.

[James K. Blaylock]

I really enjoyed reading this work, my friend. It has so many different visuals for the mind to feast upon! Although, towards the ending it seemed somewhat sad. I hope your pen keeps on flowing!

jkb