Just a shell, or: The sea

‘Useless! Useless!’ ~ a haiku by Jack Kerouac

Useless! Useless! 
—heavy rain driving
into the sea

A ‘Golden Shovel’ of ‘Useless! Useless!’

It's- useless
I'm just- useless
Mind so damnably heavy
Thoughts washed away in a rain
Of devastating doubts driving
Me directly downwards into
The darkest depths of the
Wintry wordless sea

‘Golden Shovel’?

A golden shovel is a poetic form in which the last word of each line forms a second, pre-existing poem (or section thereof), to which the poet is paying homage.


W3 poetry prompt

This ‘Golden Shovel’ was written for Angela Wilson’s W3 poetry prompt, which is to select a haiku written by somebody other than yourself and construct a ‘Golden Shovel’ poem for that haiku.


Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

53 thoughts on “Just a shell, or: The sea”

  1. “Wintry wordless sea” – I really enjoy the alliteration and the extension of Kerouac’s haiku in your poem. It reminds me of On the Road, as he often gets caught in the rain whilst being driven from one place to the next 🙂

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