Thoughts will echo, bounce and shout
Like whispers haunt a cave,
Like cryptic nonsense thrown about.
I caught some I might save.
If thoughts would knock and say they’re true,
I’d welcome them today,
But does it matter what I do?
They’ve entered anyway.
Linked to dVerse Quadrille Monday hosted by De Jackson, aka WhimsyGizmo, with prompt word, “echo”.
Photo: “Open Door” by the author. The scene is a garden gate at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Oh indeed… we cannot question anything before it enters… and so often it’s not wisdom
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That’s right. The thought has to enter before we can reject it if need be.
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Goodness! Those last lines!
I LOVE how you maintain such rhyme and rhythm in so few words, Frank!
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Thanks! I’m glad you rhyme and rhythm. Thank you for the prompt!
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My goodness, how this one resonates with me today! I love the feel of this poem 😊
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Thank you, Diana! I am glad you like the feel of the poem.
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Thinking seems like an involuntary act. The voluntary part is serving the good from the evil, the small from the big.
That’s a really nice poem!
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It seems involuntary. We have to sort though them as you say. I am glad you liked the poem, Gbolabo!
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That’s exactly what thoughts do—they bounce about inside our head like echoes.
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Some of them I would like to stop bouncing. Thanks, Jane!
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I know the feeling 🙂
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Nice one! Great rhythm and message
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I am glad you liked it!
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Smiling at this and all the thoughts bouncing around in my poor noggin these days.
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They bounce around in mine as well. Thanks, Victoria!
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Thoughts do have a way of walking in uninvited and they’re not always true. Your topic has weight, but is expressed in such an accessible way.
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A lot of the things we think are true aren’t, but those are the ones that seem to bounce around the most, at least, for me. Thanks, Janice!
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I love the idea that you can catch some echoes you might save :o)
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Some of them I probably shouldn’t catch, but they are so tempting. Thanks, Xenia!
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Love this. It is so true that thoughts often enter without being given permission. They don’t really seem to care whether they are welcome or not. One must be ever vigilant regarding which thoughts to believe. I heard a speaker who was talking about anxiety disorders once say, “Don’t believe everything you think.” It’s good advice for us all.
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I can see how fears can keep the mind needlessly busy and lead to anxiety disorders. It is hard to control them. Thanks, Linda!
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How true, our thoughts are somewhat like echoes, they bounce around inside our head no matter if they are welcome or not. Beautifully penned.
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Thanks, Sanaa! It is hard to stop some thoughts from bouncing around. Sometimes I walk, but they tag along.
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Oh, I know that feeling, Frank! It happened at three this morning, again at four and at five I was up and trying to get those echoing, bouncing, shouting thoughts into some kind of order. I got a haiku and a tanka out of them, but I would have been grateful for a few more hours of sleep.
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If you got a haiku and tanka out of them, that was something worthwhile. Come to think of it, I got this poem out them. Thanks, Kim!
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🙂
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Good stuff! Love the image to go along with it! You’ve got my follow. Check out my comedy blog and give it a follow if you like it!
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I’m glad you liked the image! I’m following your blog. Your post about drivers going half the posted speed limit was pretty funny.
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Glad you found it funny! Thanks for the follow! 😄
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Too often those randy, pesky thoughts keep the cortical lights on when I crave sleep; never have been able to find meditative silence; nice response to the prompt. I also admire your photograph. I administer an international photography site on Facebook. Consider checking it out, and sharing some of your images (Grace does at times).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/129946770719368/
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I joined! I’m just getting familiar with Facebook (and twitter and Google+). I’ve had an account for years because my niece set one up for me, but I only started to use it recently. She also loaded a bunch of apps to my phone. I’m glad you liked the photo!
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Oh those dastardly thoughts. They can get quite out of hand!
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I don’t mind the good ones, but all the nonsense popping in and out makes me wonder where it all comes from. Thanks, Beverly!
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Excellent. Bonus points for writing in verse! “Like whispers haunt a cave” that’s perfect.
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I usually write in meter and rhyme (unless it’s a haibun). It lets me know when a poem is supposed to end. I’m glad you liked that line about whispers haunting a cave.
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Ah! The picture is a great asset to this delightful poem! Personifying ‘thoughts’ is pure genius, Frank!
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Thanks! I realize I did personify them, now that you mention it. I kind of wonder where some of those thoughts come from. Others I’m pretty sure I’m responsible for.
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Blame it on the Muse, baby!
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Echoes like a word boomerang, Frank! Throw them out there and they’ll come back (whether we want them to or not!)
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I like your phrase “word boomerang”. That’s what they are. The good ones I don’t mind, but for all I know they may not be the true ones. Thanks, Walter!
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Really enjoyed this!
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Thank you!
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Mwa ha ha… So true. 😮
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Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
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There is that inner voice that echoes doesn’t it ~ I like the welcoming door & words, smiles ~
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Thanks, Grace! I have to admit sometimes the echoing is quite enjoyable.
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Using ballad meter, this one rolls and bounces well for the first three lines. And then you crash with the last lines, due to the full stop at the end of the third line (a strong stop here), and the question at the end of the seventh. It’s kind of like punchlines at the end. Nice. 🙂
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I did try to parallel those two stanzas so they would sound alike and stay within the 44 word constraint. It’s not as hard as it might appear. One just has to keep looking for different words till all constraints are met. Those fourth lines are like punchlines in both stanzas as you noted. I’m glad you liked them, Ronnie. You should try some. We have different prompts on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
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Especially love the line “like whispers haunt a cave.” Those wayward thoughts have a way of sneaking up on us and letting themselves in.
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I’m glad you liked that line, Lynn! Although I complain about those pesky thoughts I kind of like them as well.
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Your poem sounds like my brain just as I’m trying to sleep. I’m not fond of that particular echo, but you captured runaway thoughts perfectly.
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Sometimes I find it hard to get to sleep as well especially if I’m worried about something that I am anticipating, but is unlikely to happen. My mind can get all twisted around for nothing.
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the rhyme was so on point like you were making fun of that silly echo as it still want to come in no matter what!
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I suppose I intended it to be humorous. It’s a mystery to me where all that nonsense comes from–and some of it might be true. I am glad you liked the rhyme, Gina!
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Great quadrille. A lot of truth in those 44 words.
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Thank you! Truth can come in small packages.
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‘…like whispers haunt a cave…’ this conjures up a lot of thoughts! Love it! 🙂
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I’m glad you liked that line, Barbara! That is my favorite line in the poem as well.
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Thoughts are so intrusive, aren’t they? Love this, Frank!
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Thoughts can get in the way. I’m glad you liked this, Sara!
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Well done, Frank. Your words speak.
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Thank you, Eugenia!
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I like that first line, “Thoughts will echo, bounce and shout Like whispers haunt a cave.” It gives life to the echos. My thoughts on the other hand echo too much. I think it means the space inside is empty
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I sometimes wonder what inside means for thoughts and where they bounce. The cave may be larger than our heads. Thanks, Walter!
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🙂
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Wouldn’t it be nice if we could control which thoughts stay and which ones go?
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It is amazing what sticks around. Some control seems possible at least for a while. Thanks, Bryan!
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Like cryptic nonsense thrown about.
I caught some I might save.
love these lines! if only we can control.
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Thank you, Rosema! I figure a lot of the stuff I catch is confused nonsense that I haven’t thought through.
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well we all do that i think? you’re welcome! 🙂
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Oh those pesky, echoing thoughts! Nicely done, Frank.
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Thank you! The nice thoughts I don’t mind, but those pesky ones, often fear related, get annoying.
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Thoughts come and go – uninvited most of the time in my case 🙄
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In mine as well. Sometimes I do enjoy them. Thanks, Bel!
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Perfect image, Frank. Our brains can be like an open gate with no filter. This poems speaks volumes about the nature of the psychology of the mind and why we catch some thoughts and others are just stored in a memory bank somewhere. I find that in my creative endeavors, the ability to focus and catch a thought is magical.
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I find the ability to focus and catch a thought magical as well. It is all a gift, sometimes welcomed, sometimes not. Thanks, Olga!
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Love this, Frank, and how true…those thoughts can take over our minds and most of the time we have little say about it.
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When thoughts of fear and anger take over, I wish I had a better way to control them. The more pleasant thoughts, I just enjoy, but I should probably learn to control them as well. Thank you!
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ThOughts
FloWer.. Weeds
GroW mELd MoRe
sAges WisDoM CoMes
MisTakes
TrUth NoW
oF LiGht Years
GoNe DreAms..
aS KinGdoM
coMes
WAlls
FaLL..
CasTleS RisE..:)
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That’s an interesting idea of walls falling and castles rising. Thanks, Fred!
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Thanks my FriEnd
Frank as aLWays
thanks so
much
for all
the mUse
oF iNspiRaTion..:)
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Love this poem, Frank. Well done it really works so well.
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Thank you, Robbie. I am glad you liked it!
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The poem so captures the nature of thoughts! At least a key aspect of them that is often overlooked, I think.
Also, I think it would be excellent if thoughts would come with labels, “This one’s true”.
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I wish it were easier to find the true ones, but sometimes I think it is all for the best even though I whine about it. Words are a way to objectify truth, but we need to live it and not vicariously know it through words. It’s that old menu or meal idea. Ultimately only the meal nourishes. Thanks, Paul!
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The distinction between the menu and the meal always bears repeating since — as humans — we’re always inclined to mistake the menu for the meal.
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Nice 🙂
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Thank you!
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A familiar feeling, Frank! I very much enjoyed the rhyme and flow of this.
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Thank you, Angela. I am glad you enjoyed the rhyme!
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You’re welcome!
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