Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse #162
Each substance of a grief hath twenty shadows... ~William
Shakespeare
Flight is but a haunted memory
so I don’t need wings to travel far
regret can be a boarded window
yet a broken door that stands ajar
heartache is a house that creeks and moves
like an old woman’s legs in winter tend to do
we hold our memories
and peer at grief
believing in ghosts
others may never see
yet still they leave and appear
like finger prints on
glass
drinking from cups and saucers
we will never have
they follow and lead
they hold our hand
they make us stumble
yet help us stand
for yesterday was a lost child with tangled hair
today is a black bird with a lonesome stare
tonight is the moon’s reflection everywhere I go
and tomorrow a baby I shall nestle close
the reminders enter from near and far
broken and bent like a door ajar.
Oh, Carrie, this is truly special, written with knowledge of grief in all its many facets, and worded in as many lovely ways. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThey make us stumble yet help us stand ~ the memories we hoard .. a lovely poem, Carrie.
ReplyDeleteLove the regret and heartache lines, and especially the way you bring it all around again.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this - full of wisdoms and some special lines to savour not least:
ReplyDelete"regret can be a boarded window
yet a broken door that stands ajar"
Love the title, which is haunting in itself and the poem, which brings house and body together with emotion.
ReplyDeleteOh this reads so mystical. Happy Sunday
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog today Carrie
Much💚love
You have captured all the inescapable sadness of a life...beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteThis poem speaks a human language. A melancholic air it has. The last six lines took my breathe away. This is perfect, Carrie.
ReplyDelete"for yesterday was a lost child with tangled hair / today is a black bird with a lonesome stare /
ReplyDeletetonight is the moon’s reflection everywhere I go" - Great. Evocative.
WOW! This poem really speaks to me, Carrie. I love the ghosts "that make us stumble but help us stand", and the rising power in the lines beginning "for yesterday was a lost child with tangled hair", and the hope in the new baby you will hold.
ReplyDeleteLove the title and it's symbolic meaning. I think the grieving part of our heart always stays a bit open. The ghosts of yesterday often a reminder of what can or cannot be.
ReplyDeletetonight is the moon's reflection everywhere I go - that is especially true on the full moon, it plays with my emotions.
Your poem touched places in my own heart, wonderfully written.
This is wonderful Carrie — pensive and hopeful. Enjoyed this, we ll written!
ReplyDeleteYou had me at the title, Carrie. Your writing just gets better all the time.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, sad and lyrical.
ReplyDeleteso many great images in this poem, loved the image of fingerprints appearing and disappearing on a window pane. very well written, enjoyed the read
ReplyDelete"for yesterday was a lost child with tangled hair
ReplyDeletetoday is a black bird with a lonesome stare
tonight is the moon’s reflection everywhere I go"
Gorgeous, Carrie!
Carrie, I just loved this, it is so full of wisdom imparting lines. My favorite will be about memories as ghosts, ". . . still they leave and appear [] like finger prints on glass. " I do like your summation as well.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for hosting and for finding us this neat photo for inspiration. Thank you also for reading us all.
..
Your knowledge of grief's stages is so beautifully written in this poem. Grief is a harsh journey with wisps of light.
ReplyDelete