Monday, September 17, 2012

Poem of the Week - Two for the Price of One

Kids, I am excited to be bringing back the Poem of the Week series. This will normally be whatever poem really knocks my socks off in any given week. This week, a poem by Myrna Rosa at Daily Spirit caught at my heart. Myrna is a traveler with a very large heart of her own, as you will see in this poem. Below Myrna's poem is a second gem, by Timoteo. Why choose? We can enjoy BOTH! 




A VISIT TO MOTHER-IN-LAW

A person needs just a little space to live.
Her tiny room is dark, lifeless.
Pictures “adorn” every inch of wall.
Jesus bleeds.
His mother and the saints suffer.

“There’s nothing good to eat here.  Look at that ugly thing they brought me.” 
She points to an innocent piece of chocolate cake,
that I’d gladly devour if I lived in her space,
I think.

I let her believe I’m kind to bring her homemade fish.
It makes her happier than to know what is
fast food – she never approved.
And why does she eat corn flakes with every meal?
Because she can
still possess feedom’s ghost.
Only ghosts willingly see her now.
Really.
Willingly.

Obligation mixed with love makes me visit.
But truth is truth,
most times, I’d rather not go.
Not because I fear the ghosts,
or Jesus’ painfully tortured look,
his mother’s and other martyrs’
portrayal of absence – no heaven on earth.
But I must fear… something.

There is certainty in her eyes.
She gives me five little packets of graham crackers she’d saved,
and a little bracelet someone made.

I leave contemplating her little place,
knowing
to live or die, 
we need just a little space.




*************************

Isn't this poem touching? Thanks, Myrna, for being a part of our community. 

I already had this set to go when Timoteo at Catnip sprang his fantastic poem Kiss From the Clouds on the blogosphere. I simply have to include it here in case some of you may have missed it. Way to write, Timo!



She was a woman from Jakarta
the mistress of a Cardinal
and she painted lonely landscapes
on her journey to the sea

A child of the east
a woman of the west
she loves only what is forbidden
standing naked in the courtyard of a country church
where you have followed her from the tourist bus
dark angel beseeching heaven
for a sign from her departed lover

And you know that you can touch her
but she has already told you
that sex is meaningless unless
it is tied to some romantic illusion

And she has told you that her lover
had said that when he is dead
he will send her a kiss from the clouds
and you turn your face skyward

And you know that you can possess her
but she has already told you
that life is meaningless unless
it is tied to some romantic illusion

And she has told you that joy and sorrow are both impostors
and that joy is born from exultation in the moment
and sorrow in a morn when the moment has passed

And you know that you can kill her
but she has already told you
that death is meaningless unless
it is tied to some romantic illusion

And the rain comes like music divinely orchestrated
and your tears come like the muse
unexpected but greatly appreciated
and the colors of the rainbow explode inside your head
as she transmogrifies into a vision of the Madonna

And transcends into heaven

And you wonder who will pick the shrapnel from your eyes
as the rain sends you a kiss from the clouds

She was a woman from Jakarta
the mistress of a Cardinal
and she painted lonely landscapes
on her journey to the sea 


                                              **********************************************
Wow. Just so good.  Come back next week, kids, as we will be featuring a Blog of the Week. (I love this! So much fun!)

14 comments:

  1. Sherry, thank you so much for posting my poem here. I am glad you liked it and hope others will too. I wrote it after one of my visits to mother-in-law when I felt sad for her, but grateful that she is being well cared for and that I can see her frequently.

    Timoteo's poem is wonderfully sensuous, though I felt a sadness as I read it. It is truly beautiful. I am honored to be in the same post with him.

    Thanks again Sherry for all the work you do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kiss from the Clouds....as poignant as the shrapnel in the next to last stanza.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Two wonderful poem choices, Sherry!

    Good writing, both Myrna and Timoteo!! It is a pleasure to read your work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Myrna,
    The graham crackers...the corn flakes with every meal...simple details, and yet you recognized how revealing they would be...masterful!
    A poignant character study that I know will ring true with anyone (such as myself) who has a relative or acquaintance in this difficult stage of life.

    And thanks so much, Sherry for including me today!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow Sherry! You found two gems~
    I love all the intimate details in both of these poems~
    They shape and paint the individuals so well~

    Congrats to Myrna n' Timoteo~

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yeah congratulations to Miss Myrna & Timoteo~ Wish to learn a lot from you people :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great choices, Sherry.

    Myrna~ My grandmother spent her last 2 years addled by Alzheimer's and living in an elder care facility. You've accurately captured the sensations of visits to her room. Spot on!

    Timoteo~ You thrilled me when you repeated my favorite lines at the end of the poem...
    "and she painted lonely landscapes
    on her journey to the sea"
    Oh, my!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such heartfelt renderings of the human condition, by two very talented poets. I love that we're doing Poems and Blogs of the Week. Come back and check next Monday, kids. I'll be featuring one of the first members of Poets United:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sherry you do know how to pick them! Such tension and emotion in both--I realized I was holding my breath. The first one I can relate to completely, signed up to visit an elderly woman at a nursing home--as coincidences go, she was a poet and in a moment of lucidity quoted one of her poems--knocked me over. Still, it was such a sad place, and she always told me that she wanted to go home. Love and obligation, so often paired handmaidens...Thank you Myrna and Timoteo :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Not because I fear the ghosts,
    or Jesus’ painfully tortured look,

    Yes, it is exquisite and reads very honestly.

    and she painted lonely landscapes
    on her journey to the sea

    has such a feeling of ... melancholy... not sure if that is it, but it is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Both beautiful poems.

    "that life is meaningless unless
    it is tied to some romantic illusion."

    So much in those words.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh what a wonderful start to a series that will surely be very exciting!

    ReplyDelete

This community is not meant to be used in a negative manner. We ask that you be respectful of all the people on this site as each individual writer is entitled to their own opinion, style, and path to creativity.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Blog Archive

Followers