Things We lock in and Lock out: Thoughts on seeing “lock-art.”
Today while walking across the Rhine River I noticed a young woman taking photographs of a familiar historical monument. I immediately became curious. The monument is usually enclosed and protected by an iron gate. But today the gate bore numerous locks and I wondered if it was always so or if this was a special project by a local artist.And then I thought about locked feelings, feelings unshared and locked so tight that they burst out of pores in forms of pimples, rashes and shingle.
Or there are people that we lock out of our lives because of scarring confrontations. They remain locked out until an overwhelming need for reconciliation burst through like a swelling, uncontrollable dam.
Locks are also there to protect us from intruders. We do not want to be exposed like a paparazzi victim. We do not like to hang our affairs out in the public. Hurt by too much exposure, we go into lock-down mode. We become impenetrable.
We can lock down our past and hope that those who share it keep it locked too.
But don’t become famous. Dungeons too can deteriorate, break, crumble.
There are other things we can say about locks and they
are great food for thought:
Proverbs
1. Locks and keys
are not made for honest
fingers.
2. Weapons, women, and locks must be guarded at all times.
3. Wedlock is a padlock.
4. The best kind of closed door is the one
you can leave unlocked.
5. Whoever keeps
his door locked all the time longs for it to be
broken down.
5. It is too late
to lock the stable door when the horses
have already been stolen.
6. A lock is
better than suspicion.
7. A million of
keys will get into a lock but
only one will open it.
8. The words of the elders do not lock
all the doors, they leave the right door open.
9. He is
miserable indeed that must
lock up his miseries.
10. A smooth
tongue is better than smooth locks.
11. Kind words
will unlock an iron door.
12. There is no lock on the
purse of a gambler.
13. Never open a
door that you can't lock again.
14. You may lock
up the cock, but the sun will
still rise.
My thoughts on locks are still open.
Buried in a Bunker
My mother’s arms
are not enough
when bombs thunder
and lightning missiles,
strike from drones above.
My father’s hugs
are not enough
when blasted buildings
rain upon the ground.
My world lies in rubble.
Souvenirs of war
cover the streets
of my present.
Memory is
shrapnel-pierced.
Love is not enough
to drag me out
of this bunker.
© Althea Romeo-Mark
17.02.2013
Package
The highlight
of his day?
The arrival of
the package,
the moment he
untangled its strings.
His heart
flutters
and pounds.
On edge,
he rips paper
to shreds,
to reveal
his last order
made two days ago.
He’d spent a night
choosing
the silky,
lacy thing
he knew
he would never
dare to wear.
© Althea Romeo-Mark 06.10.2013
Wretchedly New
The TV blares.
Its constant dazzle,
and my hypnotic gaze,
burn my eyes red.
My head,
a throbbing swelling,
sinks into my shoulder blades.
Imprisoned
in constantly updated news
of floods, quakes, hurricanes
of wars, death and
political orchestrations,
I cannot turn away.
The newscaster’s voice
in the metal box
is comforting,
familiar, mother tongue.
Outside,
an unfamiliar,
barely explored world
nips at my heels.
Tepidly traversed,
it circles me,
smells my fear.
© Althea Romeo-Mark 10.07.2012 Revised 04.12.2013
Behind Memory’s Wall
There are things
we bury deep in crevices,
pretend
they don’t exist.
Until we confess our
deeds,
make amends,
our sleep is held hostage.
There are things
that simmer below surfaces,
ready to flare at the
minutest of irritations.
Scarred memory takes us
back,
though we have asked
forgiveness
and have been forgiven.
Tabula Rasa is no more.
©
Althea Romeo-Mark 22.09.2012
Unlock the door. Sometimes all you need is love.
(NEWSER) – Campaigners against "love locks" might now be tempted to say "I told you so" to those who called them unromantic fools: An iconic Paris bridge was evacuated after the weight of padlocks left by couples collapsed a metal grill. Nobody was injured by the collapse on the Pont des Arts bridge, which was closed for several hours, but city officials say they will step up efforts to find an alternative for couples who want to prove their love by attaching locks to bridges and throwing the keys in the river, Reuters reports.
The trend—which was inspired by a romantic novel in Italy in 2006 and has spread worldwide, the Guardian finds—has left bridges in many cities groaning under the weight of padlocks and authorities are starting to clamp down. In New York City, the transportation department has called for an end to the practice, saying maintenance crews removed some 5,600 padlocks from the Brooklyn Bridge in less than a year and the locks are threatening to damage the 131-year-old landmark, the New York Daily Newsreports.
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