Poem: Paperclips

Books & Poetry

Wednesday June 18, 2014 Comments

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This homage to the humble paperclip comes from Rob Walker, an Adelaide Hills composer and writer of poetry and prose. Rob has three published poetry collections, with another forthcoming.

Paperclips

lie unobserved for eons in dormant drawers
aggregating into metallic daisy chains.

Surreptitious cleaners of ears
and fingernails

cursive O clones in exile from
the family Alphabet

keeping poems together long enough for the submission
to be passed over never-to-be-returned.

Unbespoked to be poked into computers
by the techno-clueless

emergency eject tools
for the CD

lockpickers / simcard removers /
pre-digital pdf attachers

diasporas of whole packets from office stationery
cupboards to dark domestic drawers

languishing unused but for income tax forms
and bundles of applications to The Bank.

Gliding on and off more subtly
than the body-piercing staple

more filable than the bulldog clip
they sit there waiting to be uncoiled

a steel trap of overlapping tongues
binding the disparate into one

never wear out yet live
uneventful dread-filled lives

awaiting the day they fall
into distracted idle hands,

their undoing

Rob Walker’s poems and short stories have been published in journals in Australia, the UK and US. In collaboration, his work has also appeared in places such as Adelaide’s Zephyr Quartet’s CD “A Rain from the Shadows”.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems up to 30 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.

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<h1>Poem: Paperclips</h1>

<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/compiled-by-john-miles/" class="author">Compiled by John Miles</a></address>
											
							This homage to the humble paperclip comes from Rob Walker, an Adelaide Hills composer and writer of poetry and prose. Rob has three published poetry collections, with another forthcoming.
<h4><a href="#paperclips" aria-hidden="true" class="aal_anchor" id="paperclips"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="aal_svg" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Paperclips</h4>
lie unobserved for eons in dormant drawers 
aggregating into metallic daisy chains.
Surreptitious cleaners of ears 
and fingernails
cursive O clones in exile from 
the family Alphabet
keeping poems together long enough for the submission 
to be passed over never-to-be-returned.
Unbespoked to be poked into computers 
by the techno-clueless
emergency eject tools 
for the CD
lockpickers / simcard removers / 
pre-digital pdf attachers
diasporas of whole packets from office stationery 
cupboards to dark domestic drawers
languishing unused but for income tax forms 
and bundles of applications to The Bank.
Gliding on and off more subtly 
than the body-piercing staple
more filable than the bulldog clip 
they sit there waiting to be uncoiled
a steel trap of overlapping tongues 
binding the disparate into one
never wear out yet live 
uneventful dread-filled lives
awaiting the day they fall 
into distracted idle hands,
their undoing
Rob Walker’s poems and short stories have been published in journals in Australia, the UK and US. In collaboration, his work has also appeared in places such as Adelaide’s Zephyr Quartet’s CD “A Rain from the Shadows”.
Readers’ original and unpublished poems up to 30 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to <a href="mailto:poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au">poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au</a>. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.
 
							This article is republished from <a href="https://inreview.com.au" target=_blank rel="canonical">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2014/06/18/poem-paperclips/" target=_blank rel="canonical">original article</a>.
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