Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Glass(es).


“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” 

“One drop of wine is enough to redden a whole glass of water.” 


People are like stained - glass windows. 
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, 
but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty 
is revealed only if there is a light from within.


You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.



Glass: Transparent and opaque examples



Midweek Motif ~ Glass(es).

I see glass everywhere, which is odd as it is see-through and tries to be invisible.  Many sayings and proverbs exist.  Do you know others?


  • People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
  • Men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses.
  • Is your glass half empty or half full?
  • A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass.

Your challenge:  Expand on a proverb OR use one type of glass(es) as symbol in a Brand New Poem.  



Eisenstein Potemkin 2.jpg
Cropped still from Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin (1925).



BY MINNIE BRUCE PRATT
Shattered glass in the street at Maryland and 10th:
smashed sand glittering on a beach of black asphalt.

You can think of it so: or as bits of broken kaleidoscope,
or as crystals spilled from the white throat of a geode.

You can use metaphor to move the glass as far as possible
. . . .  
( Read the rest HERE at The Poetry Foundation.)

    Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest,
Now is the time that face should form another,
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
For where is she so fair whose uneared womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother’s glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime;
So thou through windows of thine age shalt see,
Despite of wrinkles, this thy golden time.
    But if thou live rememb’red not to be,
    Die single, and thine image dies with thee.

"For now we see through a glass, darkly. . . " 
(http://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/13-12.htm)


~


For those who are new to Poets United:  

  • Share only original and new work written for this challenge. 
  • Post your new glass(es) poem on your site, and then link it here.
  • If you use a picture include its link.  
  • Please leave a comment here. 
  • Visit and comment on our poems.
(Our next Midweek Motif is Mother Tongues)

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
If this widget does not appear, click here to display it.

33 comments:

  1. Well a cheers and thank you on this Wednesday prompt Susan..hoping you are well...so many paths this could have taken...i like the last saying you have included...looking glasses can be complicated things... ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Susan Im getting to the point that Im not surprised when your prompt corresponds with a poem I am working on. This poem is a delightful encounter I had with a doe early yesterday.
    Thanks again for these wonderful moments to be inspired

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good morning and welcome, Jae Rose and Leslie and Poets United. I'm an hour late to the party and I'm the host! Now, coffee in hand, I'm here to have adventures with you.

    I stayed up late to write a glass poem, but I was still under the influence of futuristic visions from a sister site, so it came out grim. I had an intention of writing an ode to all the glass that makes my day. I may still do that later today or later this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes darkness needs to be written out before it can be changed into light

      Delete
  4. A wonderful prompt Susan...as of now poetry seems therapeutic to me, gaining strength from words of all our dear poets....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sumana, this is one of the great values of poetry, I think. Love to you!

      Delete
    2. Write your way through, my friend. Thinking of you.

      Delete
    3. They are healing and strengthening me too. Yours especially.

      There is a wonderful book sold through Quaker books called "Guests of My Life" (line from a Tagore poem) that shows how poets and authors gave strength to author Elizabeth Watson. The poets she includes are Emily Dickinson, Rainer Marie Rilke, Rabindranath Tagore and Walt Whitman.

      Delete
  5. Good morning, thank you, Susan for the prompt with such broad theme...glass(es). You're right, we look thru every day...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think in solitude sometimes one can be refreshed....an empty glass can sometimes be filled again! At least, that is often the hope...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, the two prompts are definitely related when it comes to refilling our emptying glass of self--and sometimes, too, it is overflowing and we need to let a bit evaporate. Thank you for your fine poem.

      Delete
  7. Hi fellow poets. Am brain-dead this morning, but the memory of the sound of tinkling glass dragged a few lines out of me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sure did! Welcome, Sherry. Even brain dead, you touch my heart.

      Delete
  8. I bring the glass of mirror in an unexpected way...thank you for the challenge, Susan!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Hannah. You are very welcome here!

      Delete
  9. Hi everyone! I was moved to write something for this weeks motif. Yay! Thank you, Susan for the challenge that didn't feel like a challenge after all. I like when things work out :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what challenges are for. Your poem is a delight.

      Delete
  10. Challenging prompt today. Nice. I gave it a try. Thanks for challenging us Susan.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I LOVE your poems, everyone! Keep them coming!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Susan ~ Love the challenge ~ Am still in the office but will do my rounds later ~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to see you here, Grace. Your poem blows my mind.

      Delete
  13. Alan, I don't see how to leave comments on your beautiful poem!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Came in late and after a long time. The prompt was exciting...hence penned a few lines. Thanks Susan. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are sooo welcome! I wouldn't have missed your poem for the WORLD!

      Delete
  15. Nice topic.
    Hope you like my first time contribution here :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed, I do. Pease join and visit us often!

      Delete
  16. Susan,

    Sorry that I have been absent for a while. Time constraints recently. Liked this topic and the various options..Somehow my auntie came into my mind. Her place now with dementia and all that goes with that position...

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now I wish I had read this first, Eileen, but I left the comment without knowing the facts. I am enriched by how you handled dimentia in your poem. The best of wfshes for your auntie and family. I'm glad you are back.

      Delete
  17. Dr Susan Thank you for an amazing prompt which opened rich avenues of thoughts ideas and knowledge..best regards Thank you Poets United

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are very welcome, Dr. Anjum! I am happy to see you and love your poem. I think you will like next week's prompt celebrating mother tongues, first languages.

      Delete

This community is not meant to be used in a negative manner. We ask that you be respectful of all the people on this site as each individual writer is entitled to their own opinion, style, and path to creativity.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Blog Archive

Followers