Like a belled cat, you can hear me,
tags tinkling, long before I’m seen.
You can marvel as I walk
with flashing colors and words.
Behold my magic rainbow memory.
Blue butterfly has the best route home.
Red cardinal has my favorite restaurants.
Purple ‘potamus holds my number, phone.
Orange giraffe has zip – simply to taunt.
Fox is silver because she’s contrary,
but she has my emergency contacts, very
important when sparrows hurry away.
They sleep on the bedpost, the first, most
important pals I have. The back of my neck
sports a callous from where they swing
across it to and fro, on lanyard’s rope.
I brew the tea (green frog) and light incense
(violet kwan yin,)
warm in my bubble bath (golden lotus) and laugh
as I reach back, feel the soft fuzzy bump, reassured
that my sweet, once flighty bird is tenderly tethered,
never to be lost again.
Here is the poem I’m responding to:
Somewhere recently
I lost my short-term memory.
It was there and then it moved
like the flash of a red fox
along a line fence.My short-term memory
has no address but here
no time but now.
It is a straight-man, waiting to speak
to fill in empty space
with name, date, trivia, punch line.
And then it fails to show….It is lost, hiding somewhere out back
a dried ragweed stalk on the Kansas Prairie…”—from “Lost in Plain Sight,” by Peter Schneider
image link I couldn’t find any images for what I had in mind. Maybe they haven’t been invented as decoration on one side and room for notes on the back and able to be clipped to a lanyard.
Laura is today’s host at dVerse’ Poetics. Laura gave us two options. I chose the first, which is:
‘And the lost were found’: Select ONE of the above ‘lost poems’ … and write your poem as response with the resolution of finding, being found or returned etc.
Tao Talk 
I read this as a way to handle your memory… I love how it ties back to the “the flash of a red fox” in Sylvia’s poem.
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Thank you, Bjorn!
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such a clever response Lisa- the post-it notes for finding a way out of confusion – especially loved these lines:
“Fox is silver because she’s contrary,
but she has my emergency contacts, very
important when sparrows hurry away.”
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Laura, thank you :)
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I love the idea of “magic rainbow memory” and cataloguing as you go. It reminded me of Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” with Guy Pearce. Very cool.
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Thank you very much. I love that movie, such a clever concept that spun off a lot of mind-bending movies.
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It never hurts to leave a trail of breadcrumbs in order to not be lost. Your poem was pure fun, lots of giggles and smiles, and I needed them.
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Glenn, delighted I was able to provide you giggles and smiles, that makes me giggle and smile also. I love your breadcrumb trail comparison.
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There’s an immediate happiness here – those brightly coloured creatures – but underneath it I felt a fear, a sadness, a loss. It’s very clever.
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Thanks much for the feedback, Sarah! I can imagine the person in the original poem was feeling all of those things.
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This was so creative Lisa. I kept thinking ‘there’s an app for that’ as I worked my way through list. Very clever Lisa ☺️💕
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Thank you, Christine :) <3
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I enjoyed this lark of a poem, Lisa…and the adorable animal buttons!
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Lynn, thank you and I like how you describe it.
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You’re welcome ☺️
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So well done Lisa. Uplifting and colorful — with a nice soak as a chaser…🙂
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Thanks Rob. Hey, if I have to take a trip to dementialand I’m putting on the mouse ears, the hair bow, and the polka dot skirt :)
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I agree with Sarah’s comment. The happy face, trying to hold it all together. I have seen that in action, and it’s heartbreaking. (K)
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Yes, the fear factor has a lot to do with hiding it from others :( Why have we been conditioned to be so fiercely independent and to perceive that needing anyone else is weakness? It is there that the opportunity for bonding and kindness to take center stage.
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It’s as much of disease as the problems we hide.
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You’ve done it so cleverly Li.
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Thank you, Sadje :)
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So colorful! I enjoyed this.
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Thank you and glad you enjoyed it.
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The imagery is so powerful. I read it 2-3 times and found a new meaning in each reading.
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Reena, thank you :)
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Love the poem, love the idea, Li :)
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Thanks, Chris! :)
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What an amazing response Lisa.
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Thanks much, Linda :)
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Lisa,
You us how it’s done, accomplishing a transformation that is adjunct to but profoundly different from the original text. Exquisite craftsmanship.
pax,
dora
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Dora, thanks much, my friend <3
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You’re most welcome!
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Love where this took you. The flighty bird of memory, and the visual strategies to tether it is such a skilful and creative response.
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Thanks much, Marion! :)
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Love this, Lisa!! I am reminded of a summer night, while my mother and I waited for take out bbq … she asked me, and answered her question with “what’s the name of the disease I have ~ is it called imagination?”
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Helen, what a wonderful story about a special moment between you and your mom <3
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