Poetry Thursday: Girl Sleuth
I loved the topic of today's Poetry Thursday, unfinshed conversations. I had lots of ideas but ended up revising an old poem about a conversation I wanted to finish.
Girl Sleuth
Sometimes I'm Nancy Drew--
prowling through your closet
rummaging in your drawers
touching objects like Braille
to uncover you.
I feel along your forehead and gently
tap your skull, searching for the secret
panel which will spring open
on a creaky hinge
and solve your mystery.
I'm not looking for Ned Nickerson's blank
intimacy of the clues you toss out--
sealed envelopes to be steamed open
fractured fingerprints scattered across
the kitchen counter
but a key--
which will open your doors
and take me up the hidden 99 stairs.
This life does not
find endings
in final chapters
but stretches across
a thousand days
like a circle of months
twirling into the
dark night.
Girl Sleuth
Sometimes I'm Nancy Drew--
prowling through your closet
rummaging in your drawers
touching objects like Braille
to uncover you.
I feel along your forehead and gently
tap your skull, searching for the secret
panel which will spring open
on a creaky hinge
and solve your mystery.
I'm not looking for Ned Nickerson's blank
intimacy of the clues you toss out--
sealed envelopes to be steamed open
fractured fingerprints scattered across
the kitchen counter
but a key--
which will open your doors
and take me up the hidden 99 stairs.
This life does not
find endings
in final chapters
but stretches across
a thousand days
like a circle of months
twirling into the
dark night.
posted by Emily at 10:00 AM
14 Comments:
What a great poem. Love the title, and love this stanza especially:
"I feel along your forehead and gently
tap your skull, searching for the secret
panel which will spring open
on a creaky hinge
and solve your mystery."
Lots of nice images here, too many to pick out one that I like more than others. Good poem.
Wonderful imagery! Up the 99 stairs, searching for the panel in the skull. "This life does not find endings in final chapters..." so apt!
nicely done, emily!
you should start a nancy drew club after school.
in all your free time, of course.
see you soon.
Wow--I really enjoyed this. Love the Nancy Drew references (I'm a girl, but I was a Hardy Boys reader, although I did read a couple of Nancy books)...love how you weave the "girl sleuth" (as Jan says above) with "99 Stairs" (sounds like a Nancy Drew title--is it?), the mysteries (like the key), and Ned Nickerson. On a first read, it's a fun and interesting poem...on the second, there's such a deeper meaning...a longing. Nice work!
Great poem Emily! Ned Nickerson and the creaky hinges, secret panels and hidden stairs really bring back those Nancy Drew books I read in the yesteryears... I love how you wove that together into a love poem!
Love,
AMPC
This is great. Wonderful way to communicate. Love the mystery-angle.
The images, as other commenters have mentioned, are awesome as always.
Keep writing, I love your poems. :)
This really takes me back to my Nancy Drew days. I can see those yellow covers.
And I've certainly wondered about cracking the code to my husband's mind
Oh oh oh! This is so great. My greatest dream growing up was to be a spy or detective. I love the analogy and the symbolism of being a Nancy Drew in love. Fascinating, emotional and entertaining.
Intriguing - it left me wondering what the convsersation you referred to in your intro was about. I like a bit of mystery in a poem. I have to admit though that I have never read Nancy Drew.
I love how you incorporated nancy Drew into this poem. who knew Nancy Drew, girl sleuth held such portent for the mystery of adult love.
I read through your blog, and I love love love your writing! Your voice is amazing, as is your use of language. You have a talent for capturing the everyday (Home Depot, laundromat) with clarity and surprising insights. Your laundromat poem is just wonderful.
Thanks!
A neat poem, seamless and satisfying. Very clever, very attractive.
A very clever poem, which moves nicely from the specific to the general very well. A great use of the mystery/reading metaphor which carries the poem's weight.
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