ENNUI

Sometimes nothing happens

when the blue of dark

stares past these eyes,

into my bones, and

paints vague ‘scapes

indistinctly on the wind.

Still life vanilla milkshake

overturned, decants across

green linen, drips

over the edge and down

as I casually murder time.

The thrill of sacrificial vanilla

lofted away by watercolor

tornadoes of fear

barreling up my spine.

Author's Note

When I was still teaching, my students were a constant source of inspiration. As an exercise, I would sometimes turn out the lights, and have them write in a word or very short phrase, the images evoked by twenty minutes Enya's "The Memory of Trees." I would then ask them to use the results to write a poem. They could combine them or just use one word as a starting point. I have no memory of who came up with "the blue of dark," or their poem, but I loved the phrase.

Reviews

[Lorry]

It is a great phrase Vol and very apt for now, where here we are currently only seeing about 4 or 5 hours of what at best can be described as twilight, before day starts it's long and lazy slog across the day. I do prefer the blue of dark to twilight, as the latter always reminds me of terrible and pale teems trying to act in a terrible TV show. It's enough to give me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.
But I do like your teaching technique and find that one word or phrase Is where most of my writes are born, if only I could remember how to see them through to birth.
Oh well, maybe I should just listen and see what phrase pique my interest, rather than try to think of col sounding words, especially when I gave up caring what was cool at least forever ago 😎

[Vol]

Thanks, Lorry,
We are of a mind. I don't know how other people journal... mine are full of unrelated little thought bugs... a word, or phrase scribbled down for future reference when Erato sleeps, and I'm better prepared to deal with them. Hidden with the mundane, I sometimes find just the right nugget.
It appears to me that everybody trying to be cool together is how cults are born. Especially political ones... you better join or we just might5 have to cancel you...

[Lorry]

I keep them in a goldfish bowl, written on post it notes and do a lucky dip occasionally, but I could never join a group that would have the likes of me as a member. 😊