Talking to the wall

· by · in dVerse, free verse, poetry. ·

It’s more my habit
than your dream;
in how
your shadow
dances with
a whitewashed me.

We used to come here once
it’s where I first got drunk
it’s where I lost myself,
pretending it was love.
It’s where I thought forever
could be kept.

It’s you and memories,
the tale I tell
in plastered braille
as you run on fingertips
across the skin of me
interpreting past.

We used to come here once
before we said goodbye
and promised to return
cause school might end
but friendship is forever.

I wait,
cause I am just
your echo — still,
believing walls like me
have ears
resemble dreams
and therefore
they are mostly true.

We used to come here once
but never more again

Tentacles of memory by Mark Rothko

Tentacles of memory by Mark Rothko

Today we are writing poetry from the perspective of a wall prompted by Mish at dVerse. I imagined a dialogue with the walls of my old school.

18 responses to “Talking to the wall”

  3. Maybe walls don’t have functional ears, but thanks to this prompt, walls will talk, telling wonderful tales. Your piece is poignant, wistful. I like the lines /the tale I tell/in plastered braille/.

  4. I already thought this was so, so good, but now I’ve found the twist: The word “habit” makes me think of the wall as being a nun, having watched the couple get frisky, fall in love (or not, as you say), but not being able to get any of its own action (you know, being a wall and all). So yeah, that’s just a little extra fun for me, in how I picture it all going down. 🙂

    These are my faves:

    “your shadow / dances with / a whitewashed me” (to me, the word “whitewashed” goes back to the wall being a nun; first of all, this is a gorgeous thing to have captured, but then also I’m picturing the nun-wall being washed “white as snow” … without blemish, while the human still carries around a shadow … I just find this all very interesting; sorry to ramble.)
    “as you run on fingertips / across the skin of me” (awesome)
    “school might end / but friendship is forever” (So cute!!!)
    “I wait, / cause I am just / your echo — still” (really clever)

      • Actually, now that I think about it, walls probably get a lot of action! Just imagine how many couples press up against walls, gettin’ busy. 🙂 It’s practically a threesome! … Not to mention how often walls get peed on. You know, some people (and walls, perhaps) are really into that. 😛

  6. Oh how I love this!! You took this to another level with a conversation, the reflections and longing for the past. This has to be one of my favourites of yours, Bjorn.

  8. Beautiful words and Sanaa’s favourite lines are my choice too.

    When folk die at work, I remember them in this way, tracing my fingers across the door and the walls of their room, keeping a trace of their existence before they disappear from my memory.

    Anna :o]

  10. A very fine piece! Running fingertips over wall and the echoing part are so well written, so plain, direct yet poetic…
    Loved this one 😃

  11. I so love how you’ve written a conversation between you and the wall, Björn, and how it starts with a dream and a shadow. That wall must have been at the back of the school where the teachers couldn’t see what you were up to! The second stanza is so familiar – brilliant lines ‘It’s where I thought forever / could be kept. and the whole of the third stanza. There’s more than a touch of nostalgia in this poem.

  13. How the experiences inside those walls shaped us! YES to these lines:
    I wait,
    cause I am just
    your echo — still,
    believing walls like me
    have ears
    resemble dreams
    and therefore
    they are mostly true.

  15. Oh, how lovely this is. The words, the memories, the way you weaved a conversation in it… it’s all brought together beautifully.

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