Thursday 22 July 2010

Moondustwriter Thursdays - Featuring friend and poet Charles Martin

We are trying to make One Stop Poetry a community not just a place to link a poem to. I am curious what are some things that inspire you as you write a new poem? Give me a word and I am off and running (most of the time). They say "a picture speaks a thousand word"s well in my case fewer words but inspired words for a poem none- the- less. Would love to know what moves the minds and pens of fellow poets.

Today I am spotlighting a friend and fellow writer. Charles Martin inspires me and others to write from the heart. Charles hits some heavy areas of life in his writing. This poem shows his diversity as there is whimsy and delving into what life is all about. Enjoy this work of art! To Read More of Charles Martin's Poetry






A Jade Framed Mirror : A Poem by Charles Martin

as i passed my mirror
i would have sworn
i saw the reflection of a unicorn
but i can't be sure
for just as i turned
the lights went out
leaving only slivers of moonlight
peering through the darkness
but i wondered
could the vision be true
am i the last unicorn
a hapless man on two feet
a unicorn
a partaker of life's nectar
breathing in love's passion
while wading through
to cold waters of yesterday's dreams
feeling the shifting sands of today
beneath my feet
a unicorn
a dying breed
caught in brambles
of despair
unable to move
for fear of death
no
there must be others
dreamers and lovers
who believe
that this life
is much more
than a reflection
in a mirror













19 comments:

Rinkly Rimes said...

There's definite proof in the mirror! You ARE the last one. A sad poem but you got inside the poor creature.

Marshy said...

there are more, there must be more...a great poem from a great poet..thankyou leslie for highlighting Charles talent at One Stop...and in answer to your question, what makes me write, because i do..i didnt but now i do & i cant stop..cheers Pete

Fireblossom said...

I often start with just an interesting phrase I hear or think of, or even a single word. Or, I may have something churning inside me, and I just have to write it out, to still it.

Brian Miller said...

glad you highlighted charles...nice write...there are other dreamers....

as far as your question on community...i think it comes with communication and care...

dustus said...

An honor to see the poetry of Charles Martin on One Stop! Yay!

Anonymous said...

Charles, that is a fantastic poem. I don't want you to be the only one left... pick me! Pick me!

And the question? Well, like Pete, I write because I just do. The things in my heart and head will (and must) out, and that's all there is to it! :)

Caty said...

I hope there are still dreamers out there or this will be a very sad place. Very nicely written.

I try to write from whatever may be pulling at my heart...and believe me, it's moody ;)

dustus said...

Okay, after thinking about it all morning (What makes me write?), the main answer is my feelings. Writing is therapy for me. Can relate to what Pete said about "i can't stop" and the contents of heart and head out (Tony S.), but my feelings are very in tune with language (along the lines of what Fireblossom wrote), more so than visual. I've always been an auditory learner, and recall listening to endless hours of song lyrics :) Thanks

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this. Thanks.

All the best, Boonsong

Bubba said...

I often find inspiration in my photographs. I sometimes include the pictures in my posts, especially with my haiku.

Anonymous said...

Experiences force the writing out of me like water wrung from a pair of denim jeans. Experiences that bring me to tears, to laughter, to the very end of myself... and the photographs I take along the way.

Whether I'm climbing a mountain, kayaking a river, coaching a soccer team or comforting my daughter- I'm lugging a camera. When I look back and revisit those moments, the words come unbidden on quiet butterfly wings.

All I can do is give them voice.

Claudia said...

life for sure is ..much more than a reflection in a mirror...love the reflective words...

What makes me write...? It's so strange, I just started to write poems -and they are all around me..it may sound weird, but I see poetry everywhere - and sometimes it just hits me - and I write down an impulse or just a word on a yellow post-it - and they are everywhere...just yellow post-it who are waiting to become poetry...
Love one stop - and I'm so glad you started it - and I'm sure, it will become an awesome community!
Hugs
Claudia

Anonymous said...

The last few lines of this poem are too true for words! The idea of being trapped in a body, of living in a constant fear, of being a accumulation of memories and reflections - it has all been brought out in quite a fascinating and chilling manner! Lovely and insightful indeed!
Thank you Moon, for highlighting this poem at One Shot. I think was very thoughtful and kind of you.
And thank you Charles, for writing and conveying yet another truth!

Anonymous said...

Amazing writing! I know a dreamer....very very closely.
I look at her every day! lol

Thanks Leslie for contributing this writing of Mr. Charles Martin to OneStop, and glad I made it in to read. Well worth the time.

Anonymous said...

The reason I write, emotions, the love of it, and whatever it brings, as well as some therapy...to believe in something (self and surroundings)beyond that direct image within the mirror, It means so much to me. As all of us I believe here.

Anonymous said...

Like so many others, I was entranced by the mirrored beast in the jade moon frame, and then by the images in this beautiful poem. Until I got to "the shifting sands of today beneath my feet." Oh Charles, at that point the mirror cracked. Your work is so wonderful, I love diving into your lines, losing myself in otherworldy places and emotions. But Charles, unicorns do not have feet. Suddenly your transformation into a white-maned mystical horse became a centaur in reverse, with head, neck, mane and body of unicorn stuck, like a terrible joke, upon 2 flat things with toes. Does your unicorn not have hooves? Please, may he have hooves? Or is he, really, just a man?

ds said...

Thank you for sharing this. Love the imagery, and the message--the need for community.
Was reminded of Shakespeare: "the lunatic, the lover and the poet are of imagination all compact" (I think)
The last few lines say everything.

Anonymous said...

why not?
I believe in it

Gerry Snape said...

I'm inspired by the feeling of a word in my head and how it rolls around my mouth as it emerges into the ether!!