Tuesday, May 10, 2011

On the Same Page


We all have to be on the same page,
already full of words and charts and
even a tiny photograph, so we fold
the page just so to make a boat,
a small boat like a dinghy. It’s
crowded because it has to carry
all of us, such a flimsy little thing
for so much weight. We sit very still
in capsized fear as our little boat
glides across the placid surface.
There is no wind.

Dedicated to L.L. Barkat*

This poem is submitted for the Random Act of Poetry at The High Calling, which asked for poem that would take a dead metaphor and make it specific. One could argue that “being on the same page” is a metaphor very much alive and well, but it’s one that I personally think died years ago. To see the original article (“Guy Kawasaki Says Use Poetry in Business”), please visit The High Calling.

This poem is also submitted to One Shot Wednesday hosted by One Stop Poetry. To see more poems, please visit the site. The links will be like at 4 p.m. Central time today.

*The poem is dedicated to L.L. Barkat. If you make a donation to The High Calling during the month of May, I've committed to dedicate a poem to you. Just let me know via the comment box or an email that you made a donation (not the amount).

Photograph: Boat by Teodor Gruhl via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.
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26 comments:

  1. Louise GallagherMay 10, 2011 at 7:20 AM

    Cool!

    You've also woven in the idea of the meatphor of being 'all in the same boat' which is pretty cool too.

    'capsized fear'. Brilliant!

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  2. Kathleen OverbyMay 10, 2011 at 7:45 AM

    There are many dead ones, resisting the temptation to use them is hard. Coining new ones would be brilliant.

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  3. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    Whoa. Sounds dangerous to have us all on the same page. (Cool boat; I bet my boys would love to fold that.)

    Anyway, with five readers in the house, I'll often find more than one bookmark in the same book.

    So maybe being in the same book is OK, even if we're not all on the same page. :)

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  4. Duane ScottMay 10, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    I actually DID make a contribution, and I put it in honor of The High Calling Staff.

    I hope you get a chance to read what I wrote about you guys.

    I made the donation a week ago probably.

    By the way, I love LL Barkat and I love this poem. :)

    -Duane Scott

    P.S. No need to write a poem in my honor.

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  5. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    killing two birds with one stone
    or more with one poem
    words go farther than rocks
    they knock your socks off
    one by one

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  6. MaureenMay 10, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Nance. You crack me up.

    Duane. The rules are the rules: I want to see Glynn's poem to you.

    Glynn, I love how you've folded the paper to hold a larger sea of words (they'll carry their weight), giving us all a little more room to breathe. (I'm shameless with dead metaphors.) Charming image.

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  7. signed...bkmMay 10, 2011 at 4:10 PM

    All on the same page with words and charts is a major undertaking, would the ego stand for it.. and if accomplished the staying afloat in this sea of life is an amazing feat..nice use of a dead metaphor...bkm

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  8. L.L. BarkatMay 10, 2011 at 4:21 PM

    Glynn! This is terrific. I also love the way you killed to metaphors with one stone. (And Nance, I loved your poem as such, too. As Maureen said, "You crack me up! ")

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  9. L.L. BarkatMay 10, 2011 at 4:22 PM

    Or should I say that you revived two metaphors with one stone? :)

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  10. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    I like the imigary of us all being on the same page, although the metaphorical meaning of this poem has a wider meaning. Great write Glynn

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  11. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    I like the imigary of us all being on the same page, although the metaphorical meaning of this poem has a wider meaning. Great write Glynn

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  12. dustusMay 10, 2011 at 4:33 PM

    I'm impressed by where you took that main dead metaphor—in dinghy-style nonetheless. lol The poem for me reaches another level when considering how the boat moves.

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  13. Brian MillerMay 10, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    almost impossible to image all of us being on the same page about anything...what a tenuous place that would be...certainly someone would rock the boat...

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  14. BeachannyMay 10, 2011 at 5:15 PM

    Very clever and what is echoing in my ear? The words from Guys & Dolls - "sit down, sit down, sit down .. you're rockin' the boat". Tricky trying to find "new" metaphors, isn't it. Always having to push time forward to do that, I think. Loved this. Thanks, Gay

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  15. S. EtoleMay 10, 2011 at 5:51 PM

    I'm feeling the need for some shoring up ...

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  16. AnonymousMay 10, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    Very concise and yet measured with wisdom. So many thoughts from we are "all in the same boat" to "full of hot air" (a good thing in this case)either way, the importance of the little rubber raft has a lot more meaning since April 15th, 1912. Good job!

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  17. ayalaMay 10, 2011 at 8:08 PM

    Love it....

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  18. Michelle DeRushaMay 11, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    I love what you're doing with the poems and the dedications, Glynn. And I like this poem a lot.

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  19. BubbaMay 11, 2011 at 9:35 AM

    It is what it is... a nice One Shot. :)

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  20. Ann GrenierMay 11, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    I surely date myself but its been more than 30 years since I have been able to assume I am on the same page as most people I talk to. Woke up one day and that boat had drifted off. Nice work Glynn.

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  21. Carrie Van HornMay 11, 2011 at 4:49 PM

    Glynn this is awesome....:-)

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  22. Violet N.May 11, 2011 at 10:04 PM

    Clever. Love the page of words, charts and a photo, morphing into a boat.

    (http://vnesdolypoems.wordpress.com)

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  23. JerryMay 11, 2011 at 11:04 PM

    Maybe a little wind might ressurrect this deceased parrallel.
    Nice one Glynn.

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  24. gautami tripathyMay 12, 2011 at 8:42 AM

    Awesome! It made me want more!

    beguiling time

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  25. UnknownMay 12, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    I am quite enamored with this piece. A masters lesson in simple grace told ~ Rose

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  26. SimplyDarleneMay 13, 2011 at 2:15 PM

    Glynn, there may be no wind, but the breath of your words sails the boat!

    Blessings.

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