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This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

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Janet_R
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Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 7:02 am
Location: Minnesota

This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by Janet_R » Sat Apr 13, 2019 2:48 pm

This Is Not An Elegy
 
At 14 I questioned everything.
Everything never answered.
 
At 19 I watched my life blow away
like an old barn
in a hurricane,
graceless and immediate.
 
At 30 I knew
exactly who I was;
mother times two
preacher’s wife
mother’s daughter
Daddy’s half-orphaned child.
 
If I only made sense
in relation to others
it was sense enough.
 
50 came quicker than expected.
Children grown and relocated,
preacher dead and gone,
orphaned on all fronts.
Let the floundering begin.
Marry again
 in haste.
Move a time or two.
Smile
until my heart goes numb.
 
I never saw 60 coming.
Everything boomeranged 
bringing every answer
I never knew
I didn’t want.
 
Today it is Now O’clock
and I am here,
a weary patchwork
of stars and poetry
held together by mis-
matched thread
frayed edges and dreams
that have seen 
better days.
 
Today
I know everything
    and she’s a bitch. 

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Tracy Mitchell
Posts: 3173
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 3:58 pm

Re: This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Sat Apr 13, 2019 4:25 pm

So 'everything' comes clear -- what a solid ending to a marvelous poem. Your expressiveness is so evident here.

And welcome back. :)

T

DocCon
Posts: 817
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:30 pm
Location: the edge of the last ripple
Contact:

Re: This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by DocCon » Sat Apr 13, 2019 5:26 pm

This was powerful and great! It made me laugh and nod and say yes and yes again. Well done.

Sharon Leigh
Posts: 272
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:07 am
Location: Midwest US

Re: This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by Sharon Leigh » Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:11 pm

I feel this poem, I'm on about 50 ;)

This bit I loved:

"At 19 I watched my life blow away
like an old barn
in a hurricane,
graceless and immediate."

It's the "graceless" that got me. It's so true. So many times there is no dignity involved with life's caprice. Well written.
"This creature of the poem may assemble itself into a being with its own centrifugal force."-- Sharon Olds

ajduclos
Posts: 1746
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2019 1:35 pm

Re: This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by ajduclos » Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:34 am

I feel it more intimately than I'd like to let on - wonderful writing.
Aj

Lecram06
Posts: 1484
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2018 1:13 pm

Re: This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by Lecram06 » Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:11 am

Janet_R wrote:
Sat Apr 13, 2019 2:48 pm
This Is Not An Elegy
 
At 14 I questioned everything.
Everything never answered.
 
At 19 I watched my life blow away
like an old barn
in a hurricane,
graceless and immediate.
 
At 30 I knew
exactly who I was;
mother times two
preacher’s wife
mother’s daughter
Daddy’s half-orphaned child.
 
If I only made sense
in relation to others
it was sense enough.
 
50 came quicker than expected.
Children grown and relocated,
preacher dead and gone,
orphaned on all fronts.
Let the floundering begin.
Marry again
 in haste.
Move a time or two.
Smile
until my heart goes numb.
 
I never saw 60 coming.
Everything boomeranged 
bringing every answer
I never knew
I didn’t want.
 
Today it is Now O’clock
and I am here,
a weary patchwork
of stars and poetry
held together by mis-
matched thread
frayed edges and dreams
that have seen 
better days.
 
Today
I know everything
    and she’s a bitch. 

Janet,
The lines " bringing every answer / I never knew / I didn't want" told me to listen to this poet who faces fear fearlessly and to trust her. You grabbed me my the throat but not to strangle me. Merci,  Marcel

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HLemma
Posts: 63
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Location: USA
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Re: This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by HLemma » Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:18 am

Wow. This is courageous writing. Thank you.

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Deb
Posts: 769
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:10 am
Location: Southern California USA
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Re: This Is Not An Elegy - Day 13

Post by Deb » Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:03 pm

ajduclos wrote:
Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:34 am
I feel it more intimately than I'd like to let on - wonderful writing.
Aj
Me too. Powerful writing that speaks to me in heaps. Very well done. 
~Deb
 

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