In the Place of Cold Doors
We have a word for everything,
or seven for nothing. Soon
you’ll enter and I’ll talk
on the other side,
watch for signs in every
dropped crumb,
every nailhead and
embedded phrase remembered
in another’s voice. The light
will dim and I’ll look for rain and
go on speaking. My words will wander
unnoticed. You hear only yesterday.
“In the Place of Cold Doors” first appeared in Gossamer: An Anthology of Contemporary World Poetry, published by Kindle Magazine in Kolkata, India. I was thrilled to have several poems included in the anthology.
Beautiful and tender.
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Thanks, Emily!
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Wow! Beautiful!
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Thank you, Brenda.
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I love this, Bob. I particularly love how it took me off on a train of thought that funnily I can’t find the words for.
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Thanks, Mek. Then my work us done. Well, for the moment.
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Ok, you can take a day off then 😊 You captured the feeling I get when I give condolences to people who have lost a loved one, knowing how pointless and hollow any words are no matter how much I mean what I say- words are after all of this world and for the living- maybe primal sounds or silence are more fitting.
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No rest for the weary – time to fuel the tractor and weed whacker. Am losing the battle with cactus, agave and kidneyweed. And I knew you’d find a way to put words to your feeling. 🙂
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Trator ride sounds fun! We’ve lost the battle with agave, although we havent really put up a fight. We have something called ‘salvation Jane’ which I always think of as ‘bloody Mary’. It’s other real name isnt nuch better -‘pattersons curse’. I can’t remember the incorrect name I used to mistakenly call it, but it was funnier than bloody mary. Best of luck with that plant life! 🌵🍃
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For now, I’ve taken the lead. We’ll see how I feel in the morning.
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Maybe get their guard down by reciting poetry to them…
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That’ll do it!
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I love the combination of words and pictures.
Have a great day,
Greta
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Thanks very much.
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Beautiful Robert!
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Thanks very much!
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Yet another brilliant poem. Perfect!
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You are always too kind, Daniel. Thank you.
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Yes Indeed! A fantastic play on words with nailheads in the voice…Man you know it as a place of death, I as a place of survival and fitness takes its place in it…..fitness to survive, not win.
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Let us hope survival is enough.
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There should be a love button for this one.
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Thanks, Leslie!
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You can’t tell, but I’m doing the wave.
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I thought I felt a shift in the force…
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That was me!
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And an exquisite shift it was!
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Oh good! One never knows when one starts a one person wave how the universe will respond.
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You must be careful.
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True. A tsunami might result.
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Great line: You hear only yesterday.
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Thanks, Kathy. It seems true all too often.
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That lead photo is so perfect for this poem. It could be a hospital or an asylum or . . . let your imagination roam a bit. Having spent many years in the health field, I am very familiar with what these haunting words mean. Once again, Bob, you have hit the center of your target.
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Thanks, George. There are many places like that. I hope to avoid them as long as possible.
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Yep, so do I.
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So well expressed
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Thank you, Derrick.
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Sounds like talking to a shrink!
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I suppose that could be good or bad.
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It’s neither good nor bad just my personal interaction with the text.
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At any rate, I’m glad you felt like interacting with it.
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Absolutely fantastic
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Thanks very much!
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I always read your work aloud a couple of times. It’s like rolling the wine around in my mouth to get all the nuances out of it/ looking at the first picture, seeing a hospital corridor, and reading the words for the second time it hit me how perfectly this described my father’s experience with the diagnosis of my mother’s Alzheimers disease. “we have a word for everything” “watch for signs in every dropped crumb’ “you hear only yesterday”. Bloody uncanny but very touching.
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I truly believe that poetry should be read aloud, especially by the poet. How better to gauge rhythm and sonic flow? And thanks again for your kind words, Angela.
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Wow!
I really enjoyed this!
Check out my blog when you get the chance 😃
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Thanks very much. I’ll be certain to check out your blog.
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beautifully written 🙂
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Thank you, Raili.
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Everything you write is so brilliant! You’re really good, and you should know that! Love it so much ❤
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I must confess that much of what I write is utter crap. But I try to not share much of that. 🙂 And thanks again for your kindness.
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Haha everyone has those pieces which are much too embarrassing to put up. But the thing about me is that if I don’t put those out, my blog would’ve been empty!
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Don’t rush. Take time to put out only your best efforts.
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I am doing that. Thank you, this has really been a confidence boost!
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A superb poem.
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Thank you, Roger.
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Your words are so perfectly entwined that I can hardly find mine.
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Your words are nearby, lurking, waiting for the perfect moment.And thank you for your kind words.
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Lovely poem, Robert!
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Thank you, Dianne!
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Very nice. You had me at cold doors.
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Thank you, Keith!
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