the light in the corner
of existence
i remember the day you died or
to be more accurate, chose to leave,
or to be more accurate still, i remember
when i found out what you’d done
i wasn’t there
but i’ve never stopped seeing
the violence of your last moment
and the lifetime left
wondering
what more we could have done
the first time i understood
that life is precious
was also the first time
i understood
the hole that grows with living
one shovelful each day
until we’ve formed the mountain
we must climb
to jump back in
and i wonder if
on the way down
we think of
flying
.
.
A poem a day for 30 days, in honor of National Poetry Month. Day 24
I’m participating in NaPoWriMo, and Writer’s Digest Poem a Day Challenge.
.
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April 24th, 2015 at 10:16 am
A thought provoking poem. Makes me think of all the times life has seemed like too much. It can be but sometimes it’s so beautiful…
April 24th, 2015 at 11:07 am
Brilliant in its simplicity, sadness, message and vivid images, Kelly. And, ultimately, I prefer to think we soar.
April 24th, 2015 at 11:45 am
I’ve been getting your work delivered to my email, and was particularly struck by this hope-infused piece of yours today. It reminded me of the Poem-a-day which I also receive. Sandra Cisneros’s short “Mariela”
One day you forget his bitter smell
and one day you forget your shame.
You remember how your small cry
rose like a blackbird from the corn,
when you picked yourself up from the earth
how the clouds moved on.
April 24th, 2015 at 2:01 pm
I love the ambiguity of this, give it a depth and a license that the reader provides. Well done.
April 24th, 2015 at 5:40 pm
That first stanza…unnerving, yet feels so authentic–sharp as a needle.
April 24th, 2015 at 7:27 pm
W.O.W. this one so startled/shattered me. Like a thief in the dark of night…
April 25th, 2015 at 10:31 am
there’s pain and sorrow here – You’ve really captured it well.
April 25th, 2015 at 10:59 am
What a wonderful progression.. the second last stanza really moved it from specific to general:
one shovelful each day
until we’ve formed the mountain
we must climb
to jump back in
amazing write Kelly.
April 25th, 2015 at 4:53 pm
Whew, this is breath-taking. Life is so fragile & every moment is precious indeed. Why is it, I wonder, that we realize this so much more vividly after coming to terms with someone’s death! I do hope one does think of flying!
April 25th, 2015 at 6:55 pm
This pain is familiar to me. It was written beautifully. Bless you and the one you lost. I loved the imagery of the hole and either the climb or descent.
April 25th, 2015 at 7:27 pm
there’s a vagueness to this that adds so much depth. A deep and dark subject written in a way that avoids making the reader feel uneasy. Bravo.
April 25th, 2015 at 8:19 pm
I admire the realization of truths – both beautiful and hurtful ~ This part begs for deeper reflection:
the first time i understood
that life is precious
was also the first time
i understood
the hole that grows with living
April 27th, 2015 at 2:26 pm
tragic. brilliant. Really love the metaphor of building the mountain that we must climb.
April 27th, 2015 at 5:17 pm
i suppose the best day of dying..
is to realize we really
lived.. anything else..
must be
sad..as far
as i can see
for NOW..:)
April 27th, 2015 at 11:04 pm
Sometimes, you just strike me the right way, and your words take my breath away. – Forever Grateful, A
April 30th, 2015 at 12:08 am
my cousin Aimee, over 30 years ago. damn. ~