Sep 14
Blight…
The 8th assignment from 30 poems in 30 days… Elegies and memories…
“Write an elegy about a person or event that is meaningful to you. You don’t necessarily have to approach the most tragic event in your life. Don’t try to take on an event that is still too difficult for you to deal with. Look for something that you can handle. “
Blight
We planted wisteria for you
last week
in cold, loamy soil.
It is dormant now,
awaiting your arrival.Full bellied,
hands resting
on the curve of you,
she said as a child would
-This week
we’re growing teeth.The next day
he turns the echo
away from her,
he says
-There is no yolk.You never divided
to become one of us.It falls to me
to keep a silent vigil
while she rides
the contractions of your passing,
to boil water,
make useless tea,
remove blood-stained towels
as you seep into the sheets
before her drained
and empty slumber.In early spring
long racemes of purple
will hang above our doorway
but we can never
bring you home.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:43 am
An incredible poem, albeit so sad. “Sadness can be beautiful” a mentor said to me years ago about my own sad poems - and it is beautiful here, particularly in the the last verse. And when I am dealing with griefs of my own I find sad poems by other people cathartic, which is ultimately soothing. So I pray that this is the gift you have given your friend with this - if not now, when she is ready to receive it that way.
September 15th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Thank you Rosemary. I will bury it in the roots of the wisteria, and she will have it to read when she is ready.