Wednesday, February 18, 2015

SEEING





Vinegar and water,
the simplest, most effective glass cleanser.
I wipe until even its transparency cannot be seen,
at least from the angle I perceive.
But if I move, I see a smudge 
if I ignore, with time, 
there'll just be more.

Sometimes futility defeats me.
Why strive to clean glass
when its clarity doesn't last?
Why scrub repeatedly,
when there's dirt in the wind, 
particles I don't want 
in the slightest breeze?
Luckily, I never stay down long
Light filters through.
.
There's a reason for cleaning glass,
and there's a reason for the smudges.



(For Poets United.)

19 comments:

  1. there is a reason in all things.
    and to all things a purpose...even our futility
    ha.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahhhh. When the mood strikes, I clean the glass too. It's a metaphor for clarity , I think. Every once in a while, we need to see through the stories we're handed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oy. The sun came out and it is definitely time to wash my windows.......you reminded me. Vinegar and water is best......you are right. I love "sometimes futility defeats me". LOL. Me, too, kiddo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great message and thank you for the scent of vinegar...I can smell it so clearly...I used to clean house for a woman that had me use distilled white vinegar for everything. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. So true - there is a reason for the smudges indeed! Wish I could train the dogs to keep their noses off the glass in the front door. And wish I could train the dust to land somewhere other than the glass table tops. I think futility defeats all of us when it comes to keeping glass clean.

    ReplyDelete
  6. it's not cleaning for cleaning's sake...there's something more to it...well captivated Myrna though i think that as the beholder our eyes where beauty resides defeat futility...

    ReplyDelete
  7. wonderful expression...there's not to reason why-there's but to do and...reason contrasts with duty love and sacrifice for a cause... 'Poet Allama Iqbal writes' aatish e namrood mei kood parra ishq..aqal lab e baam mehve tamasha hai abhi' ...ref to the Fire and flower incident of King Nimrod and prophet Ibrahim..love jumped into the fire and reason kept contemplating

    ReplyDelete
  8. Why strive to clean glass - I love this, vivid capture of all that is around us and is in our lives.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderfully philosophical poem..it keeps us going...all those seemingly futile tasks...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Smudges from fingers are what I usually see. Very insightful poem.

    ReplyDelete


  11. The smudges for me are those little fingerprints and doggie noses

    ReplyDelete
  12. I don't believe in futility...There is reason why we are where we are at each moment...and much depends on how we see the world...for clarity we may want to clean every day...

    ReplyDelete
  13. yes - there's a reason for both... that constant "cleaning" can be tiring though... felt...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, everything in life has an opposite and there are reasons for both. The good can't exist without the bad. I like what I took from your words. Very nice writing :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love your ending couplet ~ There's a reason to keep the place clean though its a tiring chore ~

    ReplyDelete
  16. For the moments of clarity it gives, vinegar and water truly works. Great poem!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love it .... there is a reason for everything, and that's how the world works :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello darling girl. I've just read this poem (we can't give up can we...once the journey to awareness starts there's no going back) and the one before about Clouds (i'm a bit besotted by this poem..thank you).

    ReplyDelete
  19. Myrna,

    This poem brings back great memories of my late mother, cleaning windows on a Saturday night in Belfast, in preparation for Sunday!! Vinegar and paper were often the tools of choice. Something about cleaning to prepare for a sabbath soul..

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete