“Here Sounds The City” (A Fleurette? Maybe. Agh!)
Here Sounds in City
Here sounds in city; hard to tell
each source, as if a starting bell
triggered buck-shot reverberation,
a clanging-to sensation from a scattered knell–
Neighbor? Or a siren blocks away?
A din downstairs? Or, in ceiling’s sway?
But some tones sound inside the heart–
we hear those with a grasping start; they break our day,
not just with decibellic pierce
(though tuned at times to volume fierce):
a neon cry, you bitch, a crack
of sob; a dog’s strained bark, its back fur raised in tiers;
the loud and hipster’s swank and file;
the dumpster 3 A.M.–the pile
of what we were last week acrashing–
and (at it again) the smashing of coupled bile.
But the sound I’m trying to get
at–that gets to me–that, when met,
uplifts me to a golden mean
(present perhaps in every scene though I don’t let
myself much feel such measured calm)–
is that softly intervaled psalm
of a somehow-urban mourning dove–
a healing pulse that sounds in love though every balm
seems petrified where blocked cement
must be pushed by. Yet, the call’s ascent
makes all that forces its stubborn way
through brick—weeds, worry, will—say ah, nest the moment.
**********************************************
This is my attempt at a Fleurette – a rather odd form – AABA (with a extra long fourth line that internally rhymes with B – the third line.) I wrote it as part of a challenge posted by the poetry blog With Real Toads.
The mourning dove is that wonderful bird whose call lilts so wistfully and that can, amazingly, be sometimes heard even here in New York City.
Explore posts in the same categories: New York City, poetry, UncategorizedTags: Buckshot reverberations, Fleurette poem, Here sounds of City, manicddaily, Mourning dove poem, trying to place sound in the city
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ManicDDaily 
May 7, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Well, you did a fine job with this Karin–really nice. I love the way you used the enjambing to make it less rote-sounding and stiff, and the noises you get to hear(except for the dove, which I’m sure sounds just the same there as here) are certainly more disturbing than my country sounds–you bring them quite vividly to life, and use some really solid imagery… “…the pile/of what we were last week…” that’s just excellent.
May 7, 2012 at 8:15 pm
Thanks – yes, I liked that, but got so wound up! It’s an interesting exercise, but probably needs to be saved for very particular subject matter. k.
May 7, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Wow, I could only manage 3 or even 4, but you did 7 stanzas. I like the sounds, movements, expressions….very creative way of writing this form ~ I like it ~
Cheers ~
May 7, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Honestly, I think it’s too long! But I just got too tired to cut. Thanks. K.
May 7, 2012 at 9:02 pm
All those sounds I could hear, some made me smile. You did great with the form. I love this!
May 7, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Thanks so much, Laurie. K.
May 7, 2012 at 9:11 pm
ha…i am a total sucker for pernthesis…you rocked this…i like the form more in teh longer version personally and you wrote it with room to breathe a bit…def rocked…digging the sounds k…
May 7, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Ha. Thanks so much, Brian. I found it kind of hard, but was intrigued. K.
May 8, 2012 at 2:00 am
This is quite the exploration into sound. Love how you opened up, then kept expanding the discussion of sound into various avenues of life as you moved forward. Really cool. Thanks
May 8, 2012 at 3:26 am
I know these sounds well. Trying to trace every sound, one realises it’s really very noisy, or lively, however one wants to see it. Some birds sing above the din, a relief. I think. 🙂
I don’t know this form, but it reads well the way you wrote it.
May 8, 2012 at 4:55 am
Odd form, I agree, but interesting – and your poem rises above the form – or maybe uses it to produce a quiet beauty. Finely done.
May 8, 2012 at 12:29 pm
“nest the moment” -a beautiful ending to a fine and romping read!
May 8, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Thanks, Jane.
May 8, 2012 at 3:06 pm
If there was a grand prize you would get it. I’m amazed at how well you sustained the form, without losing the thread of your urban portrait. Indeed, the momentum picked up towards the end and your final stanza is just brilliant. Kudos.
May 8, 2012 at 3:15 pm
Well, thanks so much, Kerry. It was a very interesting exercise, so thanks for the suggestion. K.
May 9, 2012 at 7:48 am
This is smooth and easy to read and yes, “rises above the form”, this “urban portrait”. Really enjoyed this poem.
May 9, 2012 at 8:10 am
Thanks, Margaret. k.
May 9, 2012 at 11:04 am
holy hell, this is fantastic. i just came back from NYC and this is singing to me now.
May 9, 2012 at 11:08 am
Ha. Thanks so much Marian. I hope not all of it is singing to you, as some of the sounds really are a bit objectionable! k.
May 9, 2012 at 11:10 am
well there is much to love and object to in the city 🙂
May 9, 2012 at 11:27 am
For sure! Thanks. k.
May 9, 2012 at 4:27 pm
I could hear the cooing! LOL