The Shebeen
18November 19, 2014 by petrujviljoen
Flowers, not red,
sulking, all over the floor one
came to rest next to a previously peaceful stone,
having been there quite timely and, you know
what?
Excisable beers arranged on the sinking table –
the hopeful radio danced, –
it was a shebeen
– the Irish night was late.
Heads drooping into tired cups, hands folded,
still around holding on.
How could you stare so? It’s not on.
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Love all the images here, but never heard about the holiday…flowers, and radio, cups and heads- really come alive! Excellent! ~ thanks for visiting /commenting at my place. :)x
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A shebeen is not a holiday, it’s a drinking joint, often unlicensed. Loved this exercise.
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Sounds like a fun night. I like your description of waiting for the radio. Nice.
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Thanks Myrna.
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Thanks to your poem, I have learned a new word and the difference between its meaning in South Africa and elsewhere. I too like the image of ‘Heads drooping into tired cups’ – so very apt!
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Thanks. I enjoyed this one.
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I had not heard of this kind of event, or if I had, while perhaps in my cups myself, I never saw it spelled out. You rocked the prompt for me, for sure; much more than I did. I, for one, felt the prompt was certainly challenging enough for a Poetics; now MTB & FFA really get into many classic ironclad parameters, stretching our knowledge but straitjacketing our expressions. Enjoyed this a lot, thanks.
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Thank you. High praise indeed.
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oy… the sinking table def. made me think of having had too many beers already… ha.. what a night…eh
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So glad it’s all over. Don’t have to do that anymore.
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Yeah! A radio can be hopeful and dance. I like the image.
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Thanks Adriana!
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The heads dropping into tired cups.. that’s an image that I really love.
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Thanks. It’s a real memory. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt .
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Ah, you too couldn’t resist the lure of using more than one pair of inanimate object/emotional adjective! I think next time I should make the prompt more difficult – clearly, many of you enjoy an extra challenge! I agree with you that flowers can sulk quite effectively – and radio is nearly always hopeful…
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I’ve actually switched off my radio and TV – can’t stand the terrible news and each bulletin has more of it! But sometimes the music is hopeful. Loved the challenge. Thanks for the theme. More please.
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You did a great job of including several of the pairings. I liked the heads drooping into tired cups. Kind of a turn about.
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Thank you! I was surprised to find ‘shebeen’ being of Irish origin, thought it was a uniquely South African phenomenon. Visited a few in years gone by.
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