BUCKET BRIGADE

3 Comments

Poem Commentary

When too many of someone else's unwanted emotions spill onto us we have no choice but to grab a bucket.

BUCKET BRIGADE

Poured out your heart
and I was severely overwhelmed
by the quantity and complexity of its contents.
When it inundated my consciousness
and began to overflow
I raced to get a bucket.
But then, I started carrying that bucket
wherever I went
and last night it was in my bed,
took up way too much space,
and left very little room for me.
What miniscule sleep I got
was puncutated by turmoil
and restlesness.
By morning I was utterly spent
because the contents of the bucket
sloshed around, splashed on me
throughout the night
and before I knew it
I was saturated.
Got into the shower
but none of it would wash off
or even go down the drain.
And so now I've lugged
that heavy bucket everywhere
and am too exhausted to take it
anywhere else.
I'm going to drag it into a corner
and fasten a tight lid on it.
If that doesn't work,
I'll take it outsdie, dump it
and throw it in the trash.
But I don't even know
if I have the strength
to maneuver it that far.

You know,
a bucket brigade of one
is so very ineffective.

Poem Comments

(3)

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train64 commented on BUCKET BRIGADE

01-23-2011

Well written. Reads very well. A sad well told story. A kind and receiving person being manipulated taken advantage of then left coldly and cruelly burdened and exhausted. A bucket brigade of one.

sherlock139

01/23/2011

Have the feeling you may have been there, done that.

ClearlySays commented on BUCKET BRIGADE

01-23-2011

Loved it! Very witty and I can clearly see the images you portray. How many people have we known who's buckets became weights of our own?

sherlock139

01/23/2011

And how many times have we been the one who's carried the bucket? Thank you for your kind words.

khrsat commented on BUCKET BRIGADE

01-22-2011

Great poem, has a lot of meaning in so many ways. Proud of you! Ken

sherlock139

01/22/2011

Thanks, Ken. If you want to read some other good poetry, my friend Bill Grimke-Drayton, who is descended from a well-known slave-owning family in Charleston, has posted a few poems on this site. Look under grimkedrayton to find his work. I credit you with him putting his work on this great site. Thank you!!

khrsat

01/22/2011

I found this site by luck in 2009. I found enough two days ago to finally post some poems. I have 5 under KHRSAT. I figured you would like the site. I also emailed Gary Searles but don't know if he had a chance to visit it. Ken

sherlock139

01/22/2011

It's almost like a Facebook poetry site. Nice find, Ken. I will check out your other poems, too.

Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It's that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that's what the poet does.

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) U.S. poet.

sherlock139’s Poems (20)

Title Comments
Title Comments
PSALM 46:10 "Be Still and Know That I Am God" 1
THURSDAY'S ANSWERS 0
POETIC LICENSE 3
REPLENISH MY SPIRIT 0
M.I.A. 1
FOOTSTEPS OF THE FUTURE 1
AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM 1
A IS FOR ANGER 0
THE SAILOR OR THE SEA 1
GO BACK TO SLEEP 2
SHUT UP, HEART 1
SEVEN SUMMITS: An Acrostic 1
PSYCH SESSION 1
EMPTY POCKETS 0
HIGHER MATH 2
RIDING THE RAILS 0
SKY-KID 1
DEAD MAN WALKING 0
BUCKET BRIGADE 3
FREEDOM'S GHOST: Priscilla's Prayer 2