An Imaginable Sadness
“What an imaginable sadness,”
her comment read.
She meant un-imaginable,
but the accidental omission
makes the sentence true.
There is hardly a limit
to what we can imagine.
If, for example, I described to you
in vivid detail, say,
a giant rainbow beetle—
its black marble eyes,
three sets of legs,
front set slightly serrated,
growing from a dome-shaped,
iridescent exoskeleton
(electric green, violet, & gold)
alight in the brilliant sun—
you could picture it, right?
It’s right there
in your mind’s eye.
But what would you see,
I wonder, if you allowed me
to describe for you
the shape of my sorrow,
its height &
impressive weight,
its texture, its many
changing colors.
5 thoughts on "An Imaginable Sadness"
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I love how such a poem can come from a single moment, a misspelling, even. The beetle imagery is splendid, and you braid it well with your own sorrow with its “many change my colors.”❤️
Yes, me too! And nice when doomscrolling is fruitful, for once. 🙂 Thank you!
I love the idea of an “imaginable sadness” in general and ending with description-by-not-description of it is a brilliant call to imagine ours as vividly as you describe the beetle! Great writing
This really good! Your description of the giant rainbow beetle really sings. The poems works from beginning to end
Bravo!
So good. Love this one.