Thinking

Open Door

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.

Author: Frank Hubeny

I enjoy walking, poetry and short prose as well as taking pictures with my phone.

91 thoughts on “Thinking”

  8. 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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  10. 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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  12. 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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  14. 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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    1. 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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    1. 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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    1. 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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    1. 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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  22. 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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    1. 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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  24. 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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    1. 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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    1. 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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  30. 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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  35. 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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    1. 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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  39. 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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    1. 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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