The Poet's Jeweler
Refusal sits among no and deny
like a crow charm amongst
imitation pearls in a thesaurus bracelet.
It is the black onyx and body language
jewel that outshines the duller sheen
of noncommittal and withholding.
Words have value…I need to be cautious
on how much worth I place in syllables.
©Susie Clevenger 2020
#napowrimo2020 Day 7
Magnificent wordsmithing here, Susie! I love; "It is the black onyx and body language jewel that outshines the duller sheen of noncommittal and withholding."💘
ReplyDeleteBut I love the particular values you ascribe to this word!
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ReplyDeleteFour syllables, abnegation. But it requires a self denial with the refusal. My teacher, "The Poetry Home Repair Manual," by Ted Kooser, tells me not to use words that my reader would not know. I didn't know its meaning but my 'taster', Mrs. Jim didn't know it either. She has an English minor.
ReplyDeleteThe was fun reading, Susie, 'watching' you play with the words. Yes, syllables count and so do endings for meter and rhyme.
Thank you for the 2016 prompt, I wrote for it then also. This one I liked better, it was more alive for me.
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I suppose then we should write to please a reader rather than ourselves. That is hard choice to make!
ReplyDeleteThe title is inspired, Susie, and I like the way you have not only personified refusal but also compared it to a metaphorical bracelet, which has lodged itself in my brain: ‘a crow charm amongst imitation pearls in a thesaurus bracelet’. It reminds me of the way Romeo describes Juliet: ‘It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night / As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear’ and a dove among crows.
ReplyDeleteThis is exceptionally well done Susie!
ReplyDeleteI love that closing couplet!
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