The Witness

Nose up to the window,

noises in the night

- a catch of breath -

a curtain draws

your face

it's hard as any wall

lies are caught in promises

with no words at all.

And if you did see mischief

dark pools within more dark

play it dumb

is smart, my sweet

-now-

don't turn on the light

when you count up all the numbers

and learn the plates by heart

and forget those pesky faces

lest you forget your part.

Nose under the covers,

silence in the night

a curtain call before your face

as hard as any wall

lies are caught in silencers

there are no words at all.

A.J. Ponder


This was rather inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's The Smuggler's Song - here - which just happens to be an all-time favourite of mine.   Same theme, but modernised and with catches of breath in amongst the meter.  Anyway it was fun to write - thanks Mary M. And a real !$@##$%^$# as well because of the balancing act between rhyme, metre and tone. 

The picture is Jared Diamond's Guns Germs and Steel, which on the face of it isn't particularly relevant - and then on second thoughts isn't particularly relevant.  But I saw it and immediately thought  - what a great book that was, almost as good as his "Collapse"  which has to be a must for any apocalyptic writer. :)  And besides if you are reading this I'm sure you have enough imagination to fill in the blanks.   And I'll keep an eye out for something more appropriate... but in the meantime I have so much writing to do. 

:)

Cheers everyone, here's to the beginning of 2012 - now up and running....

A.J. Ponder 

 A.J. Ponder's work is available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, and good Wellington bookstores