Clockwork Love

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[Inspired by and in response to Willow Snow‘s “Clockwork Heart“]

 

This clockwork love,
Winding down the gears,
Imperishable, perpetual,
Through time immemorial
Winding down the years.

The ticking tocks,
Spinning round the face,
Inexorable, inescapable,
A life not quite immortal,
Counting down the race.

The machine slows,
Gears are wearing out,
Inevitable, predictable,
All is breaking down yet
We are breaking out.

Our forms fade and
Functions fail, but then
Enduring, everlasting,
Love incorporeal survives
Timeless beyond our ken.

Embed from Getty Images

26 thoughts on “Clockwork Love”

  2. Lovely! You established the structure in the first stanza and then remained faithful to it, which is something I always have trouble with. It makes for a really polished piece that’s both easy and pleasant to read. Well done! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks! Actually I blew it on the very last line, it’s one syllable longer than the last lines of the prior stanzas, and I knew that as I wrote it, but decided “what the hell,” and did it anyway, because I liked the way it sounded in my head. 🙂 I also started with “Inexorable, imperishable,” and had the idea that I would use “in-” or “Im-” words throughout for the third line in each stanza, but then I just couldn’t come up with enough of them, so I gave up on that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

        • It totally intimidates me! I’m not a poet by any stretch of the imagination, but once in a while it feels good to flex that muscle, to “break it up,” as you say — much like taking time out to write flash fiction! That’s equally intimidating, in ways, because you’re really trying to make every word count, and yet… and yet… sometimes it just flows, and feels good. Stephanie and Serena, who commented on this piece, both can turn out amazing poetry several times a day, which is practically unfathomable to me. (Stephanie wrote the piece that inspired me for this one, by the way)

          Liked by 1 person

        • I did read Stephanie’s post after yours. So good! I’m in full “Cabin” mode, but I don’t want to neglect the blog (I’m already a day later than usual), so I thought maybe some poetry would help keep me engaged. Unfortunately, it’s just not flowing as freely as I’d hoped. Grr! Oh, well. We’ll see what tonight brings.

          What are you working on these days?

          Liked by 1 person

        • Mostly just trying to keep up with commitments I’ve made to various people, it seems. 🙂 I feel like I have less and less time each week, but it’s probably just my imagination. I still need to write the next Partners and Crime installment, I haven’t done any serious work on Switch in a while (I think I’m feeling demoralized about the 3rd act and so I tell myself I’m brainstorming a reimagining of the second half of the story), and I’ve got absolutely nothing for the coffee romance anthology. I’ve decided to give Nanowrimo a pass this year, as I just can’t fit another deadline into my life this fall. That wasn’t an easy decision, as it was very productive for me the last two years to have that externally-imposed deadline and goal.

          If you’re in full “Cabin” mode then I think you should flow with that. Yeah, views will drop off on the blog if you don’t post for a bit, but they’ll come right back when you do, and finishing that novel is the real goal, right? Advice I should be giving myself, heh. 😉

          Liked by 1 person

        • NaNoWriMo is a HUGE commitment and sounds like you already have plenty of projects going. External deadlines are great when you’re first starting out, trying to find your rhythm, establishing a schedule, etc. But I’ve found that, the more personal projects I embrace and run with, the less I need those external ones to stay productive. “Switch” is your novel-in-progress, right? If you work on it at all next month, you’ll *technically* be participating in NaNoWriMo, to some extent 😛

          I agree, giving “The Cabin” all of my attention and finally finishing it should be the priority. I completed a draft for the coffee romance anth and plan on coming back to it in a few weeks, once I’ve had some distance from it.

          The hardest thing for me is keeping new, exciting ideas on the back burner while I finish my current project(s). It’s easy to let things fall by the wayside when there are seemingly better options and the piece in front of you is giving you trouble. If only there was a way to bottle stamina and add it to our coffee every morning !

          Liked by 1 person

        • You know, Catherine Winther and I were just having a very similar discussion, about focusing on a ‘main’ work and taking breaks for other pieces, etc. We really do all struggle with this to some extent, though at the same time those asides can be re-invigorating. Anyway, yes, you’re right, and just reading your comment makes me feel better about my decision to skip Nano. Thank you. 🙂 I’m going to focus on my own priorities instead.

          Liked by 1 person

        • Glad I could help! 🙂 By the way, this is only somewhat related, but I recently read a really interesting article by erotic romance author, Roni Loren, about blogging as a pre-published author. It completely changed the way I look at blogging and helped me relax a bit with regard to content and frequency and exactly what I’m hoping to get from this experience. I thought you might find it interesting 🙂 http://www.roniloren.com/blog/2012/6/13/investment-vs-payoff-is-blogging-worth-the-time.html

          Liked by 1 person

        • That was a good article! Thanks for sharing that. I pretty much suspected much of what Roni says is true. #2 is definitely true: you and everyone else here are my outlet, my watercooler as she puts it, and I need you all! 🙂 But so is #3: my readers here are mostly other writers, or poets, or photographers, and a few deep thinker types (who really make me think, too) — well, at least the ones who like and comment and subscribe, who are the only ones I know anything about; I’m sure there are others — but probably not so much the average non-writing reader looking to connect with a new author (especially a new author who hasn’t even published anything yet, except here). Which of course is the driver of #1. #4 is an area I could use some work on. I can’t say I’m completely focused in my posts. I love putting up pictures once in a while, but I’m not sure it has anything to do with promoting my writing, or even helping me write. It just feels good. 🙂 But, maybe Facebook would be better for that…

          Anyway, thanks for the link, and thanks as always for your thoughtful comments and encouragement. *hugs* ❤

          Liked by 1 person

        • I think you post enough fiction and poetry to warrant a few random posts. Plus, who doesn’t like to look at a gorgeous mountain vista every once in a while? 😛

          That article really helped me calm down and think about my blog more as a community space rather than simply a venue for showcasing my work. I greatly appreciate your comments and encouragement, too! There aren’t a lot of resources for erotic writers in my area, so having people to bounce ideas off of and compare notes with online has been invaluable.

          Glad you enjoyed the article! 🙂

          Like

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