Metaphors state what is there:
Wild beauty or a scar.
We may only get to know
What we think we are.
You’ll hide behind a metaphor.
I’ll tease you as we race.
We hide. We seek. Let’s finally find
Some answer we can face.
Written for dVerse Quadrille #22: “scar”.
Photo: “Bright Red” by the author
Fantastic! I love the double play of “face” that is possible, here…coming out from behind those masks…
Rhyming with a Quadrille is not easy. This one ROCKS.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this Frank, especially the wonderful breaking of the metaphor when you race and laugh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Wonderful quadrille. I especially like these two lines:
“We may only get to know
What we think we are”
I find this so true as I’m working on writing my memoir and find myself stuck in a pattern of who I think I am, but then I break through to the me I didn’t know before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I sometimes suspect, with surprise, that what we think we are isn’t what we really are. Best wishes on your memoir!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Playful and full of meaning. Wonderful work Frank.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I find meaning easier to understand if playfulness accompanies it.
LikeLike
Nice way to worl Frank
LikeLike
A wonderfully playful quadrille Frank, I love this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wisdom mixed liberally with whimsey–yes, I was once an actor, I found paths to many of the me(s), frolicking through the maze of maybes, the paths of possibilities. Nice job with this; smile.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Yes, I suspect wisdom and whimsy go together.
LikeLike
I specially admire this part: Wild beauty or a scar.
A matter of perspective, but finding the answer both of you can face may be a good starting point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I suspect anything can be seen as wildly beautiful or a kind of scar.
LikeLike
It is interesting to get to know someone as they let down their protective masks, to reveal their true selves. You’re poem was fun to read. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We may only get to know
What we think we are.
…. nicely done.. that is thought provoking.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I thought those were the central lines of the poem. There is more to know about us than we think we know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally agree…
LikeLike
Very nice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Wonderful quadrille, Frank. Makes you think.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
I liked ‘finding an answer we can face’ – beauty can be scarring to those who doesn’t understand.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLike
Love this – especially “You’ll hide behind a metaphor. I’ll tease you as we race.” Kudos ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Sanaa!
LikeLike
I agree with De and Bjorn, Frank, about the idea of metaphors as masks; the way you have broken the metaphor: ‘I’ll tease you as we race. /We hide. We seek…’; and the ambiguity of that final word’face’ that leaves room for interpretation. serious and playful at the same time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the metaphor is a mask and often one we don’t know we are wearing. I like the idea of the ambiguity of “face”.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I like this, lots of layers. On the surface it floats like a piece of whimsical gossamer, but like the best whimsy there’s something solid and thought provoking underneath.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I meant it to be whimsical on the surface hopefully hiding something more substantial underneath. Thanks!
LikeLike
‘We may only get to know
What we think we are’
I love this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Kay! Those lines are the heart of the poem as I understood it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Metaphors are like scars (sorry, that’s a simile 🙂 ). They both reveal and hide at the same time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Metaphors do reveal and hide at the same time which is what a scar does. Scars are also signs of past healing as well as past pain. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hiding behind a metaphor………what a turn of the phrase! Excellent!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Let’s finally find
Some answer we can face.
One may not want to know the truth. One feels secure in denial which is a dangerous thing. Thoughtful take Frank!
Hank
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whatever answer one finds will involve a risk that it not the right answer. Thanks, Hank!
LikeLike
We often use “scar” and variations of same as metaphors for something else. Love how you captured that, with rhyme no less, in your poem!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Hopefully, you can find the answer you can both face, and the mask will be removed. A lot in your words to ponder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Love your photo, Frank. Read all the comments and much has been said. It was interesting that you reflected on the duplicity of reality. Are we a metaphor in our own lives? The journey to Self is a butterfly dream.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Olga! I like your idea of the “journey to Self” being a butterfly dream.
LikeLiked by 1 person
❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is beautiful, the way it rhymes and how it keeps you thinking ‘what we think we are’
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Susan! I often wonder who we really are, but then I get drawn back into the day-to-day where I assume I already know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The second line brought to mind the conflict between wild nature and a manicured garden. For me it serves as a metaphor for the hide and seek relationships we all have.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I like that description. There’s always another metaphor that helps us see and seek although it might hide something else in the process.
LikeLike
For me this has a sweetness which does not disguise but enhances the deeper meaning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I suspect the deepest meaning beyond whatever sorrow we encounter is sweet.
LikeLike
Excellent analysis, Frank. Metaphors can seem so safe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
A brilliant piece.There is depth ,play and in the process an analysis of self and relationships.Its impact goes far beyond the lines.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Veena!
LikeLiked by 1 person