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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 29m

Thank you, Gary!

John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 3h

#PoemsAbout #ImperfectMe
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
Having just encouraged another poet to double dip and being triggered in a good way by a line in another poem, I’d like to double dip with this short piece I wrote in 2021 after seeing a man with a cane walking a dog with three legs.

OMNE TRIUM PERFECTUM

Three-legged man walks
three-legged dog;
a cane, an absence, and a shared heart.

Third wheel in three-legged races,
odd in games of evens; spacewalker
pounding Cupola windows.

Grabbing Gorilla Glue
to fix a three-legged stool,
putting small stock in the bond.

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 3h

I really love the perfect line break on, “ink ghosts on the flyleaves of books/I haven’t thought about in ages.” It’s also an apt and deep image. BTW, I say this often on PoemsAbout, but never apologize for sharing a poem!!!

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 3h

I know the word is used a lot, but that is such a poignant metaphor. The use of space on the page makes me feel the image even more, with the long lines focusing on the narrator and the short lines focusing on the action nearer to the ground.

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 3h

I think our highest goal as poets is to make emotional connections. Thanks for your response, Paul.

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 16h

Thank you so much, Dean! That’s an awesome assessment.

John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 16h

Thank you!

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 19h

Good night, Paul. Now that I have given myself s brief entomology course, I can see how poignant these allusions are, a troublesome relationship tacked under a magnifying glass, so to speak.

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 19h

I have to spend some time with this. Paul. I hope there are some comments soon so I can better parse it.

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 19h

There you go!!!

John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 19h

Thank you so much!

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 22h

I love starting with “all” and then then the ending line starting with “just.” As if a human being is really just a human being!

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 22h

Wow, what a powerful statement in that … on the body!!! I’m glad you didn’t skip the prompt, Merril. Friday just would not be the same…

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 22h

Yeah, nothing is a thing in itself here and perhaps a troubling thing, at that.

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 22h

Thank you, Eleanor!!!

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 22h

Thank you!

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John Chmura @johnchmura.bsky.social · 22h

Thank you, David! ❤️