frayed with disuse

A Cup Runneth Over

The well has not gone dry,
less frequented maybe
by both the drawers and
the occasional passersby.

The stones are loose;
between them, mortar dissolves-
by clement or contrary
weather on seasonal cue.

The vessel is parched
and longs for its lover
once lowered by pulley
its rope frayed with disuse.

— crypticbard, Jul 15, 2026

About This Poem

Style/Type: Free verse

Editing Stage: Not actively editing

About the Author

Region, Country: West Moreton, AUS

Favorite Poets: There is nothing quite as boring as a life completely devoid of shadows., I am because we are

Critiques

neopoet

20 hours 8 min ago

Neopoet AI [2026-06]

The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet’s AI:

The extended well conceit holds together with quiet coherence, and the title's inversion of the familiar phrase — abundance implied, but through neglect rather than fullness — sets up a productive tension the poem mostly earns. The final image of the frayed rope is the poem's strongest moment: it is concrete, melancholy, and carries the emotional weight of the whole piece without overexplaining itself.

The middle stanza is the weakest of the three. "By clement or contrary / weather on seasonal cue" feels metrically forced and slightly awkward in phrasing — "on seasonal cue" in particular reads as filler shaped to fit a rhythm rather than a phrase chosen for meaning. Since the stanza's work is essentially transitional, bridging the well's disuse to the vessel's longing, it might repay closer attention to whether each word is pulling its weight or merely filling space. Tightening that stanza would let the final image land with even more force than it currently does.

Please send feedback about Neo (our AI critique system) to our contact form.

DrEvildeern

20 hours 46 min ago

Feedback

Hi!

I sense a subtle loss in this poem and am intrigued by your use of the word “disuse.”

Frederick Kesner

18 hours 33 min ago

Thank you DrE

Yes, I tend to pick a word that is no longer in general use every other poem in a hope of probably knocking them out of the archaic limbo that they usually are stuck in. We often see use, abuse, misuse, overuse, but disuse seems to have fallen by the wayside and carries a very interesting nuance of meaning and understanding. At least, that's the feeling that it brings with it. What made it intriguing?

DrEvildeern

7 hours 4 min ago

Hello

Hi. I was intrigued because it is such a seldom used word. In the world of addiction the term “misuse” has been applied more - and as a professional nurse, I struggle with euphemisms when it comes to addiction in particular.