#syncopated
<for DE.L>
"Like a poem poorly written,
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated (1) time
And the dangling conversation,
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives"
Simon & Garfunkel, "The Dangling Conversation"
~~---------
ah, this out of rhyme and over and
past the borderline of the contours of arrhythmia
is it not the normative human condition,
who among us
is not a displaced person,
even inside the container of our minds,
seeking groundings, testing and retesting
our edged abraded shape,
with notes of vraiment,
un cri du cœur
lucky few who go without
that the affect of disaffect,
that does not contaminate the spirit,
for it is the way of the world
to overcome fear with
hatred,
to transfer the ill will,
to those who are lesser,
in number,
but greater
in accomplishment
and your internal dialogue,
always lands, settles,
on the unanswerable:
Why.
that doesn’t deserve the inquisitive honorific
of a ?
but the exhaustion of an
life long inquisition of
what is beyond
belief
Dec 29, 2025
Dec 29, 2025 at 12:47 PM UTC
In my dreams,
“Sorry that I berated you”; you
Against God. [The separation]
Like piano keys—
They’re there, technically—the sweet music
Of kissing you in my dreams. I don’t know much
About the piano, but I know this is such: I was a piano,
Once. And I learned what the word
Berated means, in my dream, because
You were connected to mine [my mind]
…Somehow…
I do not ever want that word to be erased—berated
Because of you saying
That “We, as poets, are all on the same wavelength”.
And out thoughts were syncopated,
Like a pianist learning violin.
“Lots of what ifs”.
If only
In our dreams.
©2025Ellen Finn
Nov 14, 2025
Nov 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM UTC
Pillow under the head,
body laid in a bed,
black splotched red
behind the eyes, and
a breath somehow
wakens the rest
Jul 13, 2016
Jul 13, 2016 at 6:09 PM UTC
My darling
Don't ever believe you're boring
My darling
My darling
Don't ever believe you're nothing
When you're everything
My darling
To me
Sleep soundly
My darling
My darling
I can see the parting of your lips in sleep
My darling
Never forget I'm thinking of you
Darling
You're everything to me
Dec 30, 2015
Dec 30, 2015 at 1:13 AM UTC
Movement One
story without plot
rhyme no reason
they are beautiful I embrace them
though frivolous
perplexing
how
you believe they have meaning
without existence of contrasting
thought
Movement Two
would you part Gemini or
hands from
their work
without water
land they till
becomes dull
mass of dirt
End of Statement
Not of song
what lyric without voice
has freewill without choice
must I
list the meaningless
forever
in
silence
Movement Three
what is
harmony without
melody
paint without
canvass
medium without
foundation
What a thought!
true freedom
without direction
majestic for a moment
only a moment
the pitfall of
my unfinished labor
makeshift vanity
dissipated into
forgotten dreams
make no mistake
such creations
bear certain
appeal
yet unseen
essence draws
them
into
the void
as memories
fragmented
in pieces
without one
final sliver
become
spare change
on the table
overlooked
forgotten
though of value
upon assembly
Movement Four
what is a character
without a tale?
what is a novel
without a soul
to speak of which was first
chicken or egg
to those who say
egg I say "nay"
a chicken will thrive
without young
the simple ellipse
without a mother-
hard-boiled
in a salad
together they are whole
the one gains life
the other lives
abundantly
The Grand Scheme! A Master Theme!
can there be
a creator without
creation
Movement Five
Is a book worth writing without characters to fill it? or would it
be filled, with lands and backgrounds of ambiguity?
Is a person annulled without life to retell, or become a mannequin with
a simple, painted, face
p e r h a p s
joy within the stories
hardship and experience manifest
history and all live in footprints
| |
silhouettes dreamed | the Identities | in the wake
| |
of
The Protagonist
Mar 23, 2015
Mar 23, 2015 at 11:43 PM UTC