Water water everywhere - a poem.rtf 09.05.

19 9:29 PM

Water, water, everywhere

a poem by Guy A. Duperreault.

This poem came to be when I rose to Kimberly Keith's poetry challenge "Light up as
many of your reader's senses as possible by using sounds. Let's hear what you have
to say with sound words...crash, boom, splat!!"

This was one of the hardest poetry challenges I have been faced with for reasons that
are not clear to me. I imagined that it would be easy – it sounds so easy on the surface.
But, since the challenge was posed in January of 2009, this is the only entry as of May
2009.

And as I finished composing it, I stumbled across an amazing song by Adham Shaikh
and Kinnie Starr, all about water.

Try listening to "Somptin Hapnin with Kinnie Starr" at http://www.sonicturtle.com/mp3/

essence/somptin%20hapnin%20edit%20.mp3

Water, water, everywhere

Each time I turn thought towards sound,

I sound in my mind sound sound words, and
invariably,
inevitably,
inexorably they gurgle, chuckle, giggle,
murmur, echo
down streams of endless
eau.

Water, water everywhere.

Page 1 of 5
Water water everywhere - a poem.rtf 09.05.19 9:29 PM

Water chortling down thick think tank drains

and stainless steal sinks –
sinkholes in geyser guises,
burbling onomatopoeically into rills, and a
fulgent humour
found sibilant in sweet Aphrodite's
wind
blown
spume.

I hear wind talking through stays

and masts
and rigging
like owls in an empowered parliament
bemusing wisely of mute mice
and man
walking
walking on a sound of salt water
and jellied fishes.

Then within a breadth of breath,

in a snap of
breath, gasp of
breath, dearth even death of breath,
my thoughts turn to baby wavelets of water lapping,

Page 2 of 5
Water water everywhere - a poem.rtf 09.05.19 9:29 PM

like lazy lions' tongues,

against hulls of barnacled
white and faded
red and stalwart
blue.

Then blue faced, true-blued face,

wet race-thrilled face,
I hear sheets of hemp and silk sail howling lines,
trilling their thrilling striven
pulling strain against stanchions sound,
steadfast
and safe;
and inside my head, in waves,
vibrant,
pounding,
pulsing,
booming bass drum
thrumming kettle drum
waves great
and small
and too
too tiny and tall.

I feel the icy spindrift needles sending

Page 3 of 5
Water water everywhere - a poem.rtf 09.05.19 9:29 PM

endlessly
sea sharp ended points
in a fruitless effort to efface placid black keyboard riffs,
creating anew faces etched with rifts,
crevices
of cold sweating
tango dancing
wing-wind prancing
teary eye-lined squinted
eye lines.

And all the while, voice is lost, puff-gusted out

blown back
down the throat backs
of sailing boat racers
unsoundly racing their sail boats
o'er water, under
and through it.

Race, fingers, race to mine the mind

of unsounded soundless sound,
flat screened face aglow
bent backed
and fingers bent too to
tip tap tippity tap tappity tip tap tap tapping.

Page 4 of 5
Water water everywhere - a poem.rtf 09.05.19 9:29 PM

How far is that, in reality, from

drip drap, drippity drip drip drappity
drip
drip
drip drop
drip-drop
drip?

Water, water, everywhere,

washing,
washing,
every sound thick and thin
far away ways in mind,
unsound, sound
and mindless.

Page 5 of 5