Rear View Mirror (revised)
Bottom pic as to highlight I am now in the ‘rear view mirror’
I have totally reworked the poem because it is often only when see it posted I see mistakes>
Thanks to all who commented. The crux of the poem has not changed….only the expression here and there. x
He’s gone, left the city…
Called back to his roots,
and his love.
My ‘baby’, now to be a father soon
engenders loss suffused with pride.
Circumstances bonded us like glue,
surviving hard times together.
As cold and unforgiving
as white frost memories of
leaves in childhood.
Youngest of three, he suffered most
when our ‘ideal’ lifestyle crumpled
and we were tossed without pity
out of the seemingly secure nest
of materialism and comfort.
Into the abyss of poverty
and helpless despair.
The older chicks struggled on their own.
Flailing wildly ,
flight feathers not yet formed.
Innocent victims,
unprepared for the predators,
those steel dawns and night shadows.
They have overcome and excelled .
They now fly high.
Meanwhile, we struggled together,
fighting fate and each other, daily.
Huddled in a barren landscape
telling one another “it will pass”.
Evening winter coat ritual at 7 pm by the empty grate.
It stood symbolically, devoid of solace
but we sat there anyway.
at times, wordless…
Visible breath in the air,
when we spoke.
As archaic night-storage heaters
had surrendered out the last vestiges
some hours before…
and the un-insulated loft
had melted the snow on the roof.
The birds were happy.
We had no option but to endure…
and we did.
Our country retreat brought out the worst
then the best of us.
Transformational, we emerged
hermetically sealed in shared, discrete trauma
but opened up spiritually to suffering
and empathy for others.
Something precious was born.
Those cruel days behind us now.
We live in blessing and gratitude.
The gentlest spirit
forged in God’s furnace
kindness in his DNA.
Yes, departure long overdue
but he enters into his new life
on well-earned wings.
My heart, swollen with emotion
is almost painful…
the old well-worn dichotomy
of suffering and joy.
A part of me
sits in the rear view mirror
on the drive to his new life.
Willing him ever onward
on his Red Road.
And there I remain
into the silence…..
Sorry folks. I cannot comprehend how a pic that has been deleted continues to show and the page looks a mess. I cannot post again until this is amended. It looks ridiculous.
Hi Alison
You gift us with a very personal poem and I guess is much deeper then it looks
I admire your courage in posting this “wear your heart on your sleeve” poem
I don’t think I could be so honest xx
There is no other way to get into another’s heart but by blinding honesty. We live in a fake world full of fake people posting fake pictures of fake lives. I embody reality and the depth of the human spirit to be empowered by challenging circumstances. Only in a small way, I know. So many suffer but if we can somehow put the message across that to be true to self..is like a shining banner of truth…the world may yet survive? I fear so much for the younger generation who fear peer pressure and value themselves unto suicide for an… Read more »
Alison, I felt that you shared this story with eloquence and the sadness of loss – tempered with wisdom; what more can I say?
And I can empathise with your posting issues; my last won’t format as it should from the page – so I might try typing it in.
Oh dear, I now see my reply to you has gone AWOL. Truly, I feel there must be a virus on the go on the site.
Perhaps it will return from nowhere so you will have two! I have given up hoping haha
Alison x