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Climbing the Wall (Free verse) by ecargo
To reach the bell, I begin navigating kinder-colored plastic protrusions, reaching, grasping, heaving, pulling up, pushing off misshapen blocks, gravity's fool fighting my pull, my own weakness of muscle and will, hands curled, crab clawed and aching to gain each inch, feet scrabbling, straining to stick to the stucco, to grip-- but I slip, belay my way down to the ground. This trick of undoing: I, Spiderman, nimble, sticky-handed, a fact of my being, superpowered (rasping like an old engine) up the wall by inches and grimaces. But my slippery foe, Old Doubt, wins out, and I let loose the false grasp and lose the wall, and again--again!--I fall. Should I tell how I prevailed, tolled my triumph at the top? Or how I failed and pathetically dropped? Old Robert had it right: reach, grasp (gasp, drop).

Up the ladder: Left Myside
Down the ladder: Timmy

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Arithmetic Mean: 9.6
Weighted score: 5.5483336
Overall Rank: 2482
Posted: March 12, 2006 12:01 PM PST; Last modified: March 12, 2006 12:01 PM PST
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Comments:
[8] Ranger @ 62.252.32.15 | 12-Mar-06/12:10 PM | Reply
This is cool - 'kinder-coloured plastic', 'gravity's fool', 'crab clawed', 'trick of undoing' etc. are great to read; you always give something new in your poems. I love the contrast of 'superpowered/old engine', it works brilliantly for young yet exhausted muscles.
'Old Doubt'...sounds like an ale... =D

Tell how you prevailed; I'm in the mood for good news!
[10] INTRANSIT @ 64.12.116.6 | 13-Mar-06/2:59 PM | Reply
Fantastic beat. I thought you started out talking about trying to walk across a romp-a-room full of kids and their toys. HA! I just got back from Madison, where I read Bookends and Trapped in a horseshoe aloud to a crowd of....7? It seemed to go well.
[n/a] ecargo @ 63.22.89.206 > INTRANSIT | 14-Mar-06/5:52 AM | Reply
Excellent, R! Both of 'em seem good "read aloud" poems. Bookends rhyming (and a Horseshoe's cultural cornucopia). Good for you for getting up there, 7 people or 70. I hate the idea of doing readings, always think I'll be shaky voiced on the rare rare occasions I can bring myself to do 'em, but then it's never as bad as I think.
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