The task this Poetry Friday was to write a poem in conversation with one of our older poems (or to revise it) in keeping with our overall 2020 theme of hindsight/foresight.
Well. MUCH could be said about this year in hindsight. And I have a well of poems I've written (most with my poetry sisters) with which I could converse. But I wanted to go back to December of 2019, when our task was to write a poem of gratitude. I wrote such a poem, then. I was happy with it. But I also found a fragment of a poem from that challenge that I'd never finished (the first stanza below.)
Why not see where it led? Where does gratitude...even a fragment of gratitude... lead you?
I am grateful for
silence, marshmallow rich,
that grows as I walk, alone;
I can feel the silence expand
to the sky, to the half-moon,
to the constellations.
I am grateful for
evenings, tender-crisp,
on the edge of shared winter;
I can feel the night collapse
to the marrow of the earth,
to the well of oldest time.
I am grateful for
hearts, layers-deep
beating apart and together;
I can feel the rhythm move
us to our fingertips, to the end
of love’s reach.
----Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
My poetry sisters' hindsight can be found here:
Poetry Friday is hosted today by Carol's Corner.
This gives me the shivers, Sara. I wish I'd been able to be as pure in mine. Also, the 2nd descriptive line of each stanza? PERFECTION. I aspire to this sort of appreciation today. Here goes...
ReplyDeleteA stunning finish to a 'Once upon a time' start. That marshmallow, half-moon, earth's mallow and hearts beating are rich and lovely. Gorgeous writing.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful. So perfectly crafted. Those images. Wow!
ReplyDeleteI love the food-related descriptions. So good!
ReplyDeleteOh, where is the end of love's reach? What a glorious phrase, this whole poem gives me Leonard Cohen vibes. Your Thanksgiving meal metaphors are also somehow a perfect nod to the spirit of the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read Tanita's comment, I was thinking this could be a song! Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteSara, that's a beautiful fragment, that first stanza. But that SECOND stanza! Your fragment led you to a real jewel. I feel that one in the hollow of my chest.
ReplyDeleteI think you turned your fragment of a poem into something beautiful about gratitude. Wonderful images. "On the edge of shared winter/ I can feel the night collapse."
ReplyDeleteOh, that second stanza is especially gorgeous! I love the way you structured this poem and crafted such beautiful images.
ReplyDeleteThis poem sinks in slowly, the way a marshmallow puffs when carefully roasted, the way the moon shifts phase, the way we feel our hearts beat in our fingertips--suddenly all the way there with the change barely perceptible. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteSo much to be grateful for. I loved these lines:
ReplyDeleteI can feel the night collapse
to the marrow of the earth,
to the well of oldest time.