Pages

Monday 6 January 2020

Poetry Monday: Things That Go Fast

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is ... THINGS THAT GO FAST.

Feel free to join Diane, MotherOwl, Mimi, Merry Mae, and me in posting our poetry on this topic (or any other topic of your choosing). You can leave your poem in the comments, or post on your own blog; if you do the latter, please leave a comment so we can track you down and applaud :)

Have fun and build up your brainpower -- what could be better!

A reader suggested in a comment last week that we use the topic 'leap year' sometime because 2020 is one. It was a great idea, and that will be our topic for next Monday. Thank you, Andrew.

If anyone, at any time, wishes to suggest a topic, I'm all ears (as donkeys are - ha ha). Some weeks it's hard to come up with an original, timely topic and I can use all the help you want to give.

*****

This Is My List; What Would Yours Be?

Some things just never last quite long enough --
Kittenhood full of wide eyes and soft fluff . . .
Holidays, weekends, long-dreamed-of vacations . . .
How lovely if we could extend celebrations . . .
Music that lifts us, our troubles transcend . . .
Books that engross us, beginning to end . . . 
Meaningful talks with the ones we hold dear . . .
Time that flies from us, more quickly each year . . .

So many good things are soon in the past
. . . That's why we have memories, to make good things last




Note: This button really works for our cranky cat. Just thought you'd like to know.

*****

As mentioned in the preamble, next week's topic is . . . LEAP YEAR . . .


Good luck!




51 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

The oo button has worked (and worked well) on a number of our most challenging cats too.
Love your poem. Anyone with a full memory bank is always rich.

River said...

"books that engross us beginning to end", I've read a few like that and I'm always surprised and sad when the last page appears and I have to close the book, then I look up and a whole day has gone without me noticing. I LOVE books like that.

Bonnie said...

I love your poem! I am forever amazed at your talent for writing poetry. I hope you save all your poems - you could even have them put in a book!

The cat picture is so cute and true as well. Our cats have that button too plus they love to have us rub under their arms.

Anonymous said...

Love the poem, especially the line "Books that engross us, beginning to end".

dinthebeast said...

I spent my youth dedicated to things that go fast on two wheels.
Now, as your poem points out, the thing that goes fast is time.
I'm going to turn 60 in 2020 (if I make it that far), how did that happen?

-Doug in Sugar Pine

Charlotte (MotherOwl) said...

Ohh yes That's how it is. Wonderful verse. Thank you!

nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing said...

Great list and poem. Reading each line my mind went to a misty memory and then faded.
I particularly liked the one of a good book. How often I closed a book and wished it could just go on and on.

37paddington said...

Happy new year dear friend! Thank you for all the poems last year. Looking forward to being here for more this year.

Steve Reed said...

Yet another very capable poem! I love how you can be poetic about almost any subject.

Red said...

I like your poem. It has a surprising powerful ending.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Moments of joy go by quickly, but sitting in a dentist chair, or worse yet, the gynecologist examining chair, seem like forever.

This was A gem of a poem, Jenny, and you get better and better at this art every week. I do look forward to them.

bazza said...

Things that go fast include my granddaughter
She often runs faster that I think she oughta
She never walks from room to room
She hops and she skips with a sonic boom

CLICK HERE for Bazza’s absentmindedly adroit Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

Joan (Devon) said...

Hello Jenny, lovely poem about everything that we hold dear, if only they could last.

My contribution is slightly different, but then maybe not. I wrote this after having a hard time understanding what my daughter was saying, lol. I think the poem is self-explanatary.

Fast talking

What is it with the youngsters today?
Why do they talk so fast?
Is it because they fear that,
Their next word will be their last?

I know that this day and age,
Is instant with no room for slow.
But, can't they just take a breath,
Or are they impatient to go?

Instant, instant, instant!
Tell me, what is the rush?
Where is the fire, the flood, the monsoon?
Your words to me sound like mush.

It's not a race against time,
To speak as fast as you do.
Just slow it down a fraction,
So I can hear and understand you.

Speech and conversation,
Should be precise; also clear.
Encouraging your avid listener,
To understand what they hear.

It isn't a competition,
To see who can outdo who.
If what you say is important,
Expressing your point of view.

Your Dad doesn't always remember,
To repeat everything you've said.
So if you speak a bit slower,
I'd get it first-hand instead.

It's not just my daughter who speaks 'rapid-fire', I've noticed young people on TV speaking the same way. I tend to switch myself off as they lost me at the beginning of their speech. By the way, although I have told my daughter that I can't understand what she is saying when she talks so fast, I haven't told her about the poem.

Anyway Jenny, have a good week and take care.

Marie Smith said...

Life as a senior is zipping by,
Days go so quickly, it makes me cry!

jenny_o said...

So true, EC.

Funny how difficult cats respond to that button. Our other cat couldn't care less about it, but she gets her oo's in other ways, I guess :)

jenny_o said...

Me, too, River - they pull you in and don't let go.

jenny_o said...

Thanks for reminding me that I intended to save the poems somewhere other than my blog, just in case I ever lose it. Not that anyone is knocking my door down asking to read them - haha

"Under their arms" - such a cute way to describe that!

jenny_o said...

Another book lover, I see! Thanks, Andrew.

jenny_o said...

I know! The years go far too fast for my liking.

jenny_o said...

Thank you; I'm glad people can identify with it :)

Is that you, MotherOwl? *squints* lol

jenny_o said...

Yes! Books like that are the best :)

jenny_o said...

Happy New Year, 37p! Thank you for reading :)

jenny_o said...

Thank you - it's a good thing doggerel is considered a form of poetry because I can't write the "real" stuff :)

jenny_o said...

Thank you, Red - I do like to go out with a bang - ha ha

jenny_o said...

You're too kind, Arleen - I don't consider my poems to be very good but if anyone enjoys them (besides me, I mean), I'm glad :)

Yeah, I'm not fond of those unpleasant moments that stretch to infinity, either :)

jenny_o said...

Hah! Grandkids always seem to go too fast, don't they? :D

jenny_o said...

Oh, excellent point, Joan! I find the rapid talk so off-putting as well. And as you say, it's even on TV. I find it particularly hard when a newscaster is speaking quickly; it also tends to lead to mistakes in their speech, which makes things worse. I switch off also, and go find a printed copy of the news :)

Have a good week yourself, Joan.

jenny_o said...

I know! If you find a way to slow things down, please let us know! (aside from scheduling unpleasant things every day, that is :) )

jenny_o said...

And I just noticed you made a poem! Well done :)

e said...

Lovely, Jenny. Happy 2020!

jenny_o said...

Same to you, e!

Susan said...

I have the same difficulty with my thirty something kids. The grandchildren, at the moment anyway, actually speak slower.

Susan said...

You have nailed it again. Odd how our experience of time seems to change as we age.

jenny_o said...

Yes, isn't it? I've read one explanation that says, as we age, one year is that much smaller a proportion of the whole of our lives, so it seems to go more quickly. Maybe that's correct, but you'd also think time would feel stable and consistent in spite of that. But it doesn't :)

messymimi said...

How fast people speak can sometimes depend on where they were raised. We have a friend from Maine, and my Sweetie sometimes tells her, "Slow down! Were're from the South, our ears don't work that fast!"

messymimi said...

Your poem is bittersweet and perfect.

jenny_o said...

Thank you, Mimi. Seems most of us here relate to the ideas in it, anyhow :)

Chickens Consigliere said...

I love the sound of Doug in Sugar Pine...it's kind of poetic. Doug's in Sugar Pine, Doin' fine, and almost 60.

Chickens Consigliere said...

Hi Jenny,
Happy New Year my friend! Love this poem and agree with everything you said. Fresh baked cookies, also, go too fast, in my experience.

Diane Henders said...

Your poem is so true! And so is the 'oo' button. I never knew what it was called before, but it always seems to work... :-)

baili said...

this is really an honest and beautiful poem dear Jenny :)

agree to each you mentioned here my friend ,it made my eyes bit teary and the last line is really powerful and ends it so meaningfully !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes that is why we have memories so we can live those moments again whenever we want :)

i am really inspired by your way of expressions Jenny ,i wonder how you manage to say so much with such brevity and excellence ,hats off to you my friend for making me learn from you for better !!!
wishing you all the joys and serenity with everlasting health!
hugs!

Diane Stringam Tolley said...

I always get such a lift coming here for a visit, Jenny! Perfect poem. As always!

Diane Stringam Tolley said...

Perfect!
We are here in Guadeloupe where everyone speaks French at a furious pace. Now I REALLY can’t understand!

jenny_o said...

Fresh baked cookes - yes! That's a good one!

Happy New Year to you, too, Chickie :)

jenny_o said...

Ha ha! Someone made up that great name, and I wish it had been me :)

John M said...

"So many good things are soon in the past
. . . That's why we have memories, to make good things last"
I like these lines. Happy New Year.

jenny_o said...

Thank you for your kind comment, as always, baili - I enjoy trying to reduce what I'm saying to the shortest form possible without losing the meaning. In fact, I find it hard to expand a poem, to add more description to it. We are all different and I am glad of that, because I like to read descriptive poetry, I just can't write it :)

My best to you, my friend!

jenny_o said...

I feel the same reading your blog, Diane. I'm so glad you enjoyed this one!

jenny_o said...

Thanks, John. Happy New Year to you and all your family too.

Martha said...

Oh, great poem! So true. I find that the years are passing faster as I get older! I'm grateful for the memories that stay with us long after each experience is gone.

jenny_o said...

Me, too, Martha! The good ones, anyway :)