this is not my home

[Billy]

this is not my home

i pick up a piece
of driftwood
on the beach

where has it been
where did it come from

i take it home
clean it and give it
a coat of tung oil

the shape of a leg bone
a gnarled joint at the top

lost at sea
now a home
in my study

maybe it came no further
than a few miles east or west

it can't tell me
what gave it such character
to catch my eye

a good walking stick i thought
for my swiftly passing days

[BobBradshaw]

A lovely poem. In simple, clear language the poem touches on the mysteries that surround us, and it does so with a deft, charming touch.

The poem asks the simple, straight forward question of the world that we all ask: "where has it been/ where did it come from".

The poet also touches on our mortality('my swiftly passing days'), but again lightly. A lesser skilled poet would have handled the subject heavily, ponderously.

What pleases me most, perhaps, is that the poem acknowledges our interaction with our physical world--how we can change it, giving a 'coat of tung oil', for example, but also how the physical world mysteriously affects us in return.

it can't tell me
what gave it such character
to catch my eye

It would be easy to overlook the craftsmanship of this poem....there are no 'wow' moments, or periods of showmanship. The poet quietly does his job, and leaves us wanting to come back again and again.

[FranktheFrank]

Is it too reflective, too low key I wonder.

I rather like the dramatic, and with a moral.

Lost at sea to me suggests a ship sunk, or a man overboard.

I would rather you put 'washed up on a beach'

or 'washed out to sea'.

Swiftly moving days give a idea or our limited time here

and that this world is not the end, wonderful, but

will non-believers notice that? I wonder.

Maybe the poem could indicate those mansions in some way?

In the spirit of workshopping, your choice always.

[Billy]

Thanks Bob and Frank for reading and commenting.

Geez Bob, you do get me, but I'm a little overwhelmed by your response. It sounds like a blurb written by a well-known poet on the back of some good poets book. Thanks.

[FranktheFrank]

lost at sea
now a home
in my study

Would 'at home' be a better version?

Lost at sea
now at home
in my study.

or even:

'Twas lost at sea
now found a home
in my study.

[meenas17]

Not too intense yet has a feel- the poem is brief and effective.
A simple poem very quiet and soft.