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| Copyright © 2012 Hannah Gosselin ~ Pier Post Persisting |
I ventured through the mud and stones
Until I reached that special place
Where the lingering shadows
Of willows trembled in the dying light,
Cooler of cold Corona in hand
And memories of you in my heart.
Seeking salvation for an aching heart
Is much easier here than in a field of stones
Shaped and engraved by a mournful hand,
Finding comfort in a familiar place
Where we watched divine light
In its endless dance with the shadows.
I truly understand those shadows;
They now occupy my heart,
Their darkness choking away your light,
Brushing across the stones
And desecrating this place,
Dusky phantoms melting in my hand.
I cup water in my hand
To wash away the shadows
Yet they remain in place,
The stubborn stains of a wounded heart,
One martyred by Death’s stones
But still seeking the redemption of the light.
As night approaches, the light
Crawls across the bluffs, God’s hand
Stroking color across the stones
But not banishing the shadows
That now haunt my heart
Every moment in every place.
I’m merely a vessel floating in place,
Unable to move forward toward the light,
The loss of you a nail through my heart.
I take another bottle in hand
And make a toast to you, to shadows,
To lost heroes in a sea of stones.
Here in this place I feel you close at hand,
Your spirit now a part of that dance of light and shadows,
Bringing just a bit of peace to a heart battered by stones.
~~~ This poem was inspired by a photo prompt from Imaginary Garden with Real Toads that featured the photography of Hannah Gosselin. It also fits with this week’s prompt from Poetic Bloomings, which asks for poems about water. I incorporated this week’s words from The Sunday Whirl into this poem.
12 comments:
Wow!! Mary, excellent three fer one deal! I always enjoy when this can happen.
I like what you did with this and the intentional repetition of certain words really brought a certain feeling to the piece.
Nicely written, Mary!
A place of mourning becomes a place of peace...beautiful
Mary, I'm in complete agreement about mourning in nature...we need that soulful place to soothe us. This is a strong write. Well done!
Thank you for your continued support of The Whirl. You rock!
My hat's off to you on being able to combine the three different prompts (especially incorporating those difficult wordle words) and come up with such a beautifully composed poem!
the cold Corona was a key move...you aced this prompt
This is a beautiful piece, melancholy, and filled with details that make it all seem so real.
You are so ambitious, Mary! Great sestina here... I especially like:
I’m merely a vessel floating in place,
Unable to move into forward toward the light,
The loss of you a nail through my heart.
I take another bottle in hand
And make a toast to you, to shadows,
To lost heroes in a sea of stones.
I really liked this line. >>> Seeking salvation for an aching heart Is much easier here than in a field of stones. Just something about that line rang for me. Nice!
That was very resourceful. And with a Sestina, no doubt. That's impressive. Great write.
I am genuinely impressed by the number of prompts this wonderful poem answered.
I haven't gotten to the point where I can meld prompts. Kudos. Reminds me of my lost loved one who had ashes tossed in the ocean... I can never go to that place 'of stones
Shaped and engraved by a mournful hand,' for remembering.
Thanks for your visit. We'll see what the next word list brings for a continuance... :)
From happiness to, to sadness to peace...what a whirlwind tour. It appears that everyone liked this photo as much as I did. You did a terrific job.
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