Alarie Tennille: of clocks and clips

~ jama

Tick tick tick . . .

“The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali (1931)
DALI'S CLOCKS
by Alarie Tennille

Scientists have cut time
into tiny, equal ticks,
but we all know it is fluid,

dripping ever so slowly —
an I.V. refusing to kill pain
or worry, 

sweeping us away —
a tidal wave any time we’re 
on the beach of contentment,
reluctant to gather up our things
and head back to our car.

Yet we persist in counting it
as though that’s a skill required
for our final exam —
the one we keep dreaming 
we didn’t prepare for.

~ from Running Counterclockwise (Kelsay Books, 2014)

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Ekphrastic poems are a double delight: we get the poet’s response to a work of art along with fresh incentive to take a closer look.

Both Dali’s masterpiece and Tennille’s poem speak to the fluidity and impermanence of time, something that depends on our perception of it. Did you nod in recognition at the last stanza? I know I’ve had the ‘unprepared for the test’ dream many times.

Time is a recurring theme in Tennille’s book Running Counterclockwise, and her poems invite us to take a moment to pause, dial back, reconsider. Along with her ekphrastic poems, she mines family memories as well as everyday scenes for the unexpected, mysterious, heartbreaking, fascinating. She is, in fact, known for surprise turns in the action and moving moments of satori. I, for one, love her uncanny sense of humor — there’s nothing more delightful than a good zinger. 🙂

PAPER CLIPS GONE BAD
by Alarie Tennille

Lights out in the office,
the paper clips ease
themselves loose.
Let go of the paperwork.
Grab a cab uptown
to a jazz club, where
a mean trombone
vibrates up and down
and around their spines,
plays reveille to lust.

Music moves them to tears
and heavy drinking.
Some slip into back rooms, alleys,
or endless reminiscing.
Some are never heard from again.

Before the sober sun
can nag, they stagger
back to work. Try to find
the same cube, same desk,
same report. A few lie
unconscious on the floor.
Tonight they’ll do it all again.
We put up with it,
because a paperclip
that goes straight
is no use at all.

~ from Running Counterclockwise (Kelsay Books, 2014)

Gotta love those jazzy paperclips. What have your clips been up to lately?

Getting back to Dali: though he was a master of the surreal, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. I accidentally discovered that he, too, was a clip chaser. Why not cover a bust with them?

Salvador Dali with his bust of JFK.
Dali’s sculpture was made of bronze with a paperclips overlay.

Those renegade paperclips sure do get around, don’t they?

Dali created this sculpture in 1965, two years after Kennedy was shot (he had made a cast of JFK’s face prior to his assassination). In 1961, Kennedy had declared his intention of getting an American on the moon by the end of the decade (he succeeded!).

Perhaps the bust was a nod to “Operation Paperclip,” the code name for the program where German scientists were recruited in secret to come work in the United States to assist America in the Space Race with Russia.

The lesson here is that if any of your paperclips go missing, do not fret. They have likely gone bad doing good things.

Tock.

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Alarie Tennille was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia with a genius older brother destined for NASA, a ghost, and a yard full of cats. A Phi Beta Kappa, she graduated from the University of Virginia in the first class that admitted women (B.A. with distinction in English). She met her husband, graphic artist Chris Purcell, in college. She still misses the ocean, but loves the writing community she’s found in Kansas City.

After a career ranging from technical editor to greeting card writer, Alarie is retired and has more time to focus on her poetry writing. She serves on the Emeritus Board of The Writers Place. Alarie’s poems have appeared in numerous journals including Margie, Poetry East, Coal City Review, I-70 Review, English Journal, Wild Goose Poetry Review, and Southern Women’s Review. Her poetry collections include Running Counterclockwise (2014), Waking on the Moon (2017), and Three A.M. at the Museum (2021). To learn more about Alarie, visit her Official Website and Facebook Page.

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Author, poet and ardent naturalist Buffy Silverman is hosting the Roundup at her blog. Amble on over to check out the full menu of poetic goodness being served up around the blogosphere this week. Enjoy your weekend!

*Copyright © 2023 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

28 thoughts on “Alarie Tennille: of clocks and clips”

  1. After reading Alarie’s poem I have a new found respect for paper clips! Thank you, Jama for introducing us to her poetry! Have a wonderful weekend!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Dali’s Clock and Paper Clips Gone Bad are thought provoking, in very different ways! I find the Kennedy bust with the paper clips disturbing, but perhaps that was Dali’s intent. I can wait to read more of Alarie Tennille. Loved this post, Jama!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Okay, I’m off to find her books – a frequent reaction to reading your posts, Jama. (Hide my checkbook….)
    LOVE these. (And I’m a Phi Beta Kappa English major with a genius brother, too.) And I hadn’t ever seen this Dali sculpture – thanks. The other paperclips dancing throughout this post are positively magnetic. Like you and the whole bear crew. xo

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Happy to hear you enjoyed the post, Robyn. Alarie’s got a quirky sense of humor, right up my alley. My paperclips have never been the same.

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    1. Ekphrastic poems are so delightful — thanks to you, I’ve learned of so many new-to-me works of art viewed through the lens of your fabulous poems. Wonder how many clips Dali used in that sculpture . . .

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  6. 💙 your post of clips and being introduced to Alarie Tennille, and her wonderful sense of humor—the clips are priceless! And Dali’s sculpture—perfect. We are watching “For All Man Kind” so your post is spot on regarding the recruited scientists, thanks for all and especially those mischievous 😏 clips… who knows where they’ll go next…

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  7. Thanks for this post Jama! I love the twist “a paperclip / that goes straight /
    is no use at all.” What a conclusion to the poem!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Contentment is something we are ever searching for, right? I love that first poem, the middle verse starting with “reluctant to gather”, Jama. And the paperclips gone awry, in poetry and from Dali, never would I have imagined that. Now I wonder why I see an occasional one on the floor? Thanks for the intro to Alarie Tennile, will look for her books! Thanks!

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  9. Thank you for this introduction to Alarie Tennile! I share her fascination with time (wrote yesterdays Spiritual Journey on this human construct); I look forward to reading more of her poetry. –And love love love those paperclips! My son always shakes his head wondering why the world continues to make them (and ceramic coffee mugs)… “Surely there are enough hiding in kitchen junk drawers!”

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    1. No shortage of paperclips OR ceramic mugs in our house. Your son has a good point. Yet the few clips in this post were thrilled when I took them out to be photographed. 😀

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  10. Those final exam dreams never end do they? (or the one where you can’t open your locker and you’re lost in the HS hallways and apparently you’re not wearing anything?) Love the paperclips, the trombone vibrating up and down and around their spines.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I’ve never had any naked can’t open my locker dreams . . . yet. 😀 A recent recurring dream I’ve been having is of being lost in a shopping mall, unable to find my way back home.

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  11. Jama,
    What a special post of all things, paperclips! Jama, the graphics of the paperclips are adorable but the bust of Kennedy with the back matter are amazing. I am so glad that I had time to visit your post on a Friday rather later in the weekend.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Glad you liked the paperclips, Carol. I only “discovered” the Kennedy bust because of this post. Poems lead us on fascinating journeys.

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  14. Your posts always fill me with joy! I love those jazzy paperclips. Thank you for introducing me to a new-to-me poet. Have a great week!

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