Sometimes, when the sun has gone to bed,
a can of words opens in my head,
too tired to stop them wriggling across my brain,
they leave slime and detritus, worry and pain,
a blot on the landscape of my weary creativity.
I carry them with me up the creaky
stairs and, as soon as my head hits the pillow, (unaware
that those wormy words are still wriggling there)
I fall asleep. Into the depths of darkness, they squirm,
aerating the soil of my dreams, crumbling from firm
to soft and mushy, fertile ground for words to flower
into stories and poetry. Long past the witching hour,
they blossom in the dark, their petals soft and scented,
beauties and beasts waiting to be regimented
into sentence and paragraph, line and stanza –
a poet’s imagination is a word extravaganza.
Kim M. Russell, 12th February 2020
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Getty_root_word-580816161-5653825f5f9b5843e11c9134.jpg)
My response to Poets and Storytellers United Weekly Scribblings #6: Turn Cliché into Poetry or Prose
Magaly has been running on her trampoline and talking to her fairy godchild about cliché, which she says is the place ‘where exhausted phrases go to die’ – I love that It metamorphosed into today’s prompt, in which we are taking one or more clichés and turning them into new poetry or prose (stories, articles, letters, etc.). I chose ‘the sun has gone to bed’, ‘a blot on the landscape’, ‘can of worms’, and ‘as soon as my head hits the pillow’, and the whimsical worms did the rest!
writing in north norfolk 
Nice image of a can of worry worms composting a poet’s creativity!!!
LikeLike
Ha ha, wonderful twist on that saying.
LikeLike
Slime, itch, maybe even sometimes stabbing pain. I hate how I love it.
This is outstanding capture, KMR, My hat’s off.
LikeLike
This is a wonderful description of the poet’s mind asleep!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Helen!
LikeLike
And at the end I was left thinking… the early bird catches the word. I really enjoyed this. (Morning is my favourite time to write)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mine too!
LikeLike
That leap from creaky to stair left me wondering
where
“Word extravaganza” … how I love that term! Enjoyed your poem, as I always do!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Bev!
LikeLike
Gosh this is absolutely stunning in its phrasing, Kim!💝 I especially love; “crumbling from firm to soft and mushy, fertile ground for words to flower into stories and poetry.” 😍😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Sanaa! 😀
LikeLike
I love the wordplay so much, Kim. You truly embraced the resurrection of an old phrase. I suspect, that from now on, every time I hear “can of worms” I will smile and imagine “a can of words” nourishing a muse’s dream and inking wonder into being.
And I love those last two lines!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m pleased you like it, Magaly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was just adorable! Those cliches turned into a really cute (LOL and accurate) description of the brain of a poet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Rommy!
LikeLike
WOW, this is gorgeous Kim, luv your extended metaphor of the poet’s fertile mind
Happy Wednesday
Much💝love
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Gillena. Much love to you!
LikeLike
Oh yes! Love how you took a can of worms and let it work the soil into poetry.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Susie!
LikeLike
What fun to read this Kim, especially those wormy words!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Robin!
LikeLike
…I’d never be able to sleep. My computer is right beside my bed… maybe not the best idea!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Only a lamp and books beside my bed, Margaret – the laptop is is my fridge of a study!
LikeLike
You taken a cliche, can of worms, and put it into good use by vivid images as a writer I can relate to, “…a blot on the landscape of my weary creativity.” Brilliant write!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Khaya!
LikeLike
Why is this true for so many of us? “…the landscape of my weary creativity.” – I see the want of rest but the mind cultivates another line or sentence that needs to be transcribed or it find the fate of a forgotten memory.
Thank you for this thought, Kim.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for reading and commenting, Joel.
LikeLike
Like the earworm, they won’t go away. But your drawing board makes lemonade. BTW, I key mine in using my smartphones before I get up, trying to savor those weird ideas in print. (Besides, my computer crashed in November.)
..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you get your computer fixed soon, Jim.
LikeLike
So beautiful! The last two lines took my breath away!
Love!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person