One Hand Tied Behind the Metaphor
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One Hand Tied Behind the Metaphor
I stepped into the ring of rhetoric with one hand tied behind the metaphor—
a silk scarf of symbolism, double-knotted by my own cleverness.
The crowd loves a handicap.
They cheer for constraint like it’s moral fiber.
“Write with limitation!” they cry, from the bleachers of abundance.
So I jab with allusion, uppercut with imagery,
try to keep my balance while my free hand flails
like a windmill auditioning for relevance.
The metaphor, meanwhile, is smug.
It smells faintly of lavender and superiority.
It whispers, “Compare yourself to something bigger,”
and I do, a teaspoon fencing a thunderstorm.
I could untie it, of course.
Call things what they are.
Chair. Loss. Tuesday.
But where’s the pageantry in that?
Where’s the tasteful fog?
Instead, I dance.
Half-grace, half-gimmick.
Every sentence a compromise between muscle and mist.
And if I fall, well,
at least I’ll have something poetic to blame it on.
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This ekphrastic poem's title is the tenth line from one of my earlier poems, that poem was made up of incomplete sentences, that somehow made great titles.
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©2026 Christopher Reilley I would love to know what you thought about this piece.
Please consider leaving a comment.
I like how you gallop through the tulips in the poem.
ReplyDeleteClever, imaginative and fun to write them. Love this part best:
ReplyDeleteInstead, I dance.
Half-grace, half-gimmick.
Every sentence a compromise between muscle and mist.
A clever and engaging ekphrastic poem, Chris. The opening lines hooked me immediately, especially the ‘’silk scarf of symbolism, double-knotted by my own cleverness’. I smiled at the smug metaphor that ‘smells faintly of lavender and superiority’.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your poetry, Chris. Tonight as I spray my pillow with lavender mist, I'm going to feel "quite superior"!!
ReplyDeleteI have come to love your poetry and others at the dVerse... this one is one of my faves this week! It reminds me of my literature teacher and me being like... There are rules?
ReplyDeleteHa... love it... don't we all wish we could be more clever than calling a spade a spade.
ReplyDelete