07 November 2014

Fair Bones


The good thing about bones
is there can be no comparisons,
who's thinner, who's better looking or better dressed.
We can tell males from females, of course,
the angles of bones and width of spaces,
but expectations don't hinge on that
or judgements formed.

The problem with bones
is the lack  
of skin to hold us in, 
the vulnerability to breaks,
the hunger
that can never be stilled 
and the question we debate endlessly
of contact with the living.

We know things 
and want to pass them on,
especially to those 
who share our marrow
but the how 
eludes us.

That's what bones seek:
to be wrapped in skin again, to talk, to be heard.


Gay Reiser Cannon has us writing about "fair" over at the dVerse Pots Pub, Meeting the Bar. She gave various definitions but since I'm on a bone kick, I chose fair as "having a disposition free of favoritism or bias" for this and found bones to meet that standard in an exceptional way.

16 comments:

  1. What an innovative poem. I love the many implications of "fair" you used without employing it anywhere but the title. Very skillfully true. It does that thing a good poem does, it hits you with an understanding you knew was there but never had it expressed that way before. Excellent!

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    1. Thank you, Gay. I appreciate your words immensely.

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  2. "We know things and we want to pass on" - oh, I really love the layers of your writing. Gets me every time.

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  3. strip away all the trappings....the looks...I think it would work if we took the skin off...imagine everyone in just muscles and organs...ha...yuck....our foundation is similar though...and I think we would def lose the comparisons...

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  4. I think the angle you've chosen is exceptional and just how you avoid the word itself but focus on the definitions... well done.

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    1. I liked this prompt and it linked with my bone preoccupation.

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  5. Well, this is an intriguing response to the prompt. I think I shall have to check out your other bone poems..........I enjoyed hearing from dem bones!

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    1. They're wise with the 'nothing left to lose' perspective, Sherry.

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  6. Creative poem using bones as a focus for fair.

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  7. very creative indeed!! the first three lines are simply unique...a great take...

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    1. I was trying to think of this from the bones point of view.

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  8. Love the idea of bones being heard.

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