“Man Nesting”- Finding Inner Child (The Crawling Didn’t Quite Do the Trick)
The above is my pictorial take of Tess Kincaid’s photo prompt for The Mag this week; the original photo was by ParkeHarrison. And here’s my verbal take:
Man Nesting
He felt like an idiot.
They’d taught him to crawl again; now this.
The crawling had been a bitch; he’d ruined three perfectly good pairs of pants–(yes, they said wear knee pads. Yes, they’d suggested jeans.) But the jeans chafed, and who has knee pads hanging around–
You need to find your inner child, she’d insisted.
You need to find your inner adult, he’d hissed back.
But she’d wheedled, wept, then even moved out for a couple of weeks, and had the softest skin ever at the nape of her neck, and a smell that even now as he shut his eyes over the brittle earth scent of mud-crusted stick–(the words “bird spittle” flashed for a single alarming instant)–
–that, even now as he shut his eyes over the scratch of crusted twig, made his whole being ache, rejoice–the feel of her side beneath his palms. He held the nest sides gently to not further crush the construct, feeling the callouses at the sides of his hands as if he himself were the branches, broken, bound together —
–even as he shut his eyes, lowering this last still-good pair of pants into the wound wood curves—it was a nest, yes, a one-man nest–where did they come up with such things?
He had said, please, when he found her–he had said, don’t leave me; he had said, ever. (He hadn’t been able to help himself, the anger whooshing instantly into need). He had taken her face in those slightly roughened palms–
Tracked with tears, that face had nodded; his own eyes filled too, like a child’s.
So, now, he settled his crooked pants over the annoyance of straw, clod, bristle, knowing knowing knowing, even without this further lesson, that when he went home afterwards, she’d assure him, with both arms, that she saw a difference already.
(Have a great Sunday–check out all the great writing at the Mag, and if you’ve got time, please please also check out my comic novel, NOSE DIVE, available on Kindle for just 99 cents and in print for just a bit more.)
Explore posts in the same categories: iPad art, poetry, Uncategorized, Vicissitudes of LifeTags: finding inner child, iPad picture based on ParkeHarrison, Mag 111, manicddaily, nesting, prose poem about man loving wife, prose poem about man nesting
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ManicDDaily 
April 1, 2012 at 9:33 am
captivating…
April 1, 2012 at 9:44 am
you sure make this guy seem needy. he’s got problems!!!
in the dragon’s nest
April 1, 2012 at 9:58 am
I agree with zongrik.. Nice write tho..
JJRod’z
April 1, 2012 at 10:34 am
Incredible writing.
April 1, 2012 at 11:30 am
ha i am really liking your longer pieces k…they are giving you room to really flush out ideas…i like this…and maybe this is a good learning process as well…i bet the nest though it a bit tough on the posterior..esp with those pants off…
April 1, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Oh My God. Karin– so fluid, so elegantly hilarious, so tender-funny and brilliantly written. This is a homerun– lol– first typed “homefun”– anyway absolutely adore it. Mine’s up at usual place. xxxxj
April 1, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Yup! I agree. You’ve got a home run here. You have woven this piece impeccably. This man has no problem…it’s the surrealistic world he is in that has the problem. Anyone who ends up in a nest in this way for love would have many oddities in orbit nearby through no fault of his own. Well, perhaps except for a broken picker concerning women.
April 1, 2012 at 2:27 pm
I enjoyed every word, and loved your pictorial take on the prompt.
April 1, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Great story, K. This is my favorite line: “He held the nest sides gently to not further crush the construct”
April 1, 2012 at 3:28 pm
Excellent tale!
Anna :o]
April 1, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Thank you for your comments – they were awaiting moderation! 🙂 Thank you too for being so determined to comment and for your understanding of the point!
April 1, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Hi Little Nell–I thought it might be something like that, but I didn’t see the flash of “your comment saved!” Loved your piece. K.
April 1, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Entertaining and unique. I noticed the shoes were off, so i guess no pants is OK inside the house too.
My inner child doesn’t like crawling, but doesn’t mind having his pants off. 😉
April 1, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Ha! I kind of meant that he was lowering his pants with the legs still in them! Into the depths of the nest, but it’s interesting that both you and Brian thought he was taking them off! Haha. K.
April 1, 2012 at 5:31 pm
I really enjoyed your intriguing poem.
April 2, 2012 at 8:20 am
It’s amazing what winding roads of fantasy an image can take us on… You make me long to write longer pieces again… *sigh* Lovely!!!
April 2, 2012 at 9:58 am
Charming, brilliant write, K! I enjoyed imagining him wearing out the knees of his pants…crunching in the twigs of the nest…
April 2, 2012 at 10:15 am
Ha. Thanks, Tess.
April 2, 2012 at 12:25 pm
As I read your Magpie, I felt like a participant in a psychodrama .. very nice.
April 2, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Ha. I don’t know if that truly sounds so great! K.
April 2, 2012 at 2:02 pm
nicely done…thanks for sharing this
April 2, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Great expectations,K! Sometimes it might be too much to ask!
Hank
April 2, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Might be! K.
April 2, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Intelligent piece of writing.
April 2, 2012 at 10:52 pm
He must have needed help. 🙂 A nest is a good cure. I love this piece.
April 2, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Ha! Thanks.
April 3, 2012 at 9:58 am
A dancing of equals !
April 3, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Whoa! I have been reading poems for a hour and your post is wonderfully creative, written with emotion and posted with talent running out around the edges.
I’m glad I clicked on your entry. Thank you for this pleasure of this read.
April 4, 2012 at 4:08 am
Powerful psychological drama being played out there- perfect match for your graphic!
April 4, 2012 at 10:41 am
heehee
I diid not think the pants were off.
And I liked it.
=)
April 4, 2012 at 10:47 am
Thanks, Sue.
April 4, 2012 at 6:13 pm
Hey! Hey! That was a fabulous read, a pure mini saga of perfection. It’s refreshing to come across a bit out of the ordinary!