Sunday, July 17, 2011

Entry #45

Aspire
by Matthew Quinn


The char of my hand
reaches up
through a bubbling, red sun
into black space

because another star
beckons,
adorned for the moment
with solar flare wings.

Drawn
into a fresh inferno
and subsumed,
I surrender to its agony.

Let me wander
from one flame to the next,
no thought but to burn
with a brighter fire.

19 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Wow, I love this. "The char of my hand" is such a wonderfully evocative phrase to begin with.

Catherine Vibert said...

I love the metaphorical implications here. My take is jumping from one failed possibility/passion to an unknown future potential. So much like what all of life really is. A masterpiece here in very few words and an excellent poetic take on the prompt.
I'm glad I prodded you into entering the contest Matt!

Life in a Poem said...

nicely written

Luke said...

Great poem, invokes really nice imagery.

Precie said...

So much possibility and promise in this. Lovely!

Aimee Laine said...

I'm really not great with poetry, but this was dead on a reflection of that photo. :) Really loved seeing the two mixed. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow. Beautiful, and most especially your last two lines.

It's great to see a poem in the mix!

fairyhedgehog said...

The last two lines are what really made it for me.

Unknown said...

Nice poetic take on the prompt, you made it work.

Dottie :)

bluesugarpoet said...

We are all wanderers. This piece touches the soul - love the imagery and the economy of words. Beautiful! ~Jana A

Old Kitty said...

Oh wow. I love the imageries - "solar flare wings", "bubbling red sun" - I'm really in awe! Thank you, take care
x

Jade L Blackwater said...

The final stanza is my absolute favorite. Were it not for the narrative requirement, I'd even suggest that the final stanza could stand on its own.

Glad to read some poetry today - thanks!

PJD said...

The title frames the whole thing. When I read it, my thought was insatiable greed, but the title brings it back to a more noble context. Nice poem, no extra words, visually appealing.

Michele Zugnoni said...

Beautiful imagery. Thank you for sharing!

Bruce Roush said...

Really enjoyed your poem. So very reflective of the prompt picture.

JaneyV said...

Matthew - at last a poetic entry. Your imagery is clear and evocative. Your words are few but carefully chosen. As has been said before your final two lines are a perfect ending. Always end on hope!
Well done.

Aniket Thakkar said...

I'm with Jazz. The last two lines were really awesome and deliver so much to think about just on their own.

I too am glad to read poetry here.

Anonymous said...

Thanks all for the encouraging comments! Much appreciated!

Anonymous said...

I feel the cosmos in this one. Not only in the scope, but also in the mind of this speaker.

My judging does not reflect the quality of the poem at all. I didn't sense narrative movement, so I couldn't score it against the other entries.