MISCELLANEA

INK BLOTS

INK BLOTS

[Tracing patterns in ink blots]



All have heard of Rorschach blots,
Un-designed but yet designed
So that they gauze hidden depths
Of the dark corners of mind.

But when ink blot technique is
Used by some one, not a shrink,
That, too, in poetic form,
One is forced to pause and think.

Well, what do I find in this
A many-headed hydra?
Are there only three faces
Or there is yet one extra?

First face on the left is that
Of John, a factory worker.
Beads of sweat show on his face,
He is never a shirker.

Second face, that of Mary,
On the right in her black gown
Is care-free, innocent,
Without worry or a frown.

Looking from above on left,
Third face, with a pointed nose
Is that of Scoba the witch,
Like a thorn piercing a rose.

I have described three faces
Which I was able to read.
But a fourth one may be yet
Lurking somewhere indeed.



* Written for InvisibleInk’s InvisibleInkBlot's Poetry Contest, "Invalid Item" , where a poem had to be woven around faces discerned in the ink blot by the viewer.


* Earlier posted as an independent item no. #899570. Deleted on 21 December 2004


M C Gupta
17 October 2004