I filled a glass at the sink,
set it down on the counter
& watched it grow still.
What am I doing here?
I asked the water.
Which way should I go?
What color is sleep?
The water rose from the glass
as well as any genie
though it took its own
sweet time.
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I'm Dave Bonta, a poet and literary magazine editor from the eastern edge of western Pennsylvania. For background on the site, see the About page. For more about me, see my Google profile.
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"On the whole I concentrated on things and people that I found charming and splendid; my notes are also full of poems and observations on trees and plants, birds and insects."
— Sei Shonagon, 994 A.D.
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What color is sleep? I’m hoping for shades of blue. Nice write Dave. Good night~
Thanks. I’m more inclined to think it’s clear, like water…
The ending was such a delightful surprise,and yet feels more and more true as it settles in.
Really? Cool. Thanks for commenting.
And the answers rise like a single bubble to the surface from some mud creature sighing.
If it’s true divination you’re after, yeah — I think bubbles would be key.
Delightful, Dave. I love the last four lines.
I have a water poem on the way that occupies similar territory. I mention this solely to avoid future litigation.
Thanks, dick. I’ll look forward to that.
Potable water is sometimes described as “sweet”–I’ve always found this interesting because, on another level of myth, we think of water as neutral.
So, which is it? Sweet? Neut? Words for the same thing, depending on our mood?
Your question stirs a faint memory. I think I must’ve blogged about that sometime back in 2004, when all my pent-up opinions were spilling out. I probably said something like, “the sweetest water is that with the least taste.”
Kia ora Dave,
I think I need a drink.
Cheers,
Robb
Have one for me too, Robb. It’s been too long since I’ve had anything alcoholic…
“Sweet” struck me as well. I think I’ve always welcomed water’s lack of sweetness, in fact, it’s lack of everything.
Water is such a good metaphor for — well, nearly everything. It’s like the universal solution.
“What color is sleep?” is such a good lead-in to the genie’s slow magic. I really like this poem.
Thanks. You might be amused to know that I actually dreamed that line, and wrote it down when I woke up. (I had been wondering what one might ask a glass of water the night before.)
You know, I just saw it from another angle: the color of sleep, being more understated and down-to-earth than the color of dreams, really signals (as the white-to-clear tap water does earlier) the later tension between the genie and evaporation.
I was looking at it from just the color-leading-to-clear angle earlier.
Hmm. Good point.
Love this scrying poem. Water does ask us to ask, doesn’t it?
It does when you’re exhausted, or otherwise ready to listen.
Thanks for stopping by.