Finding the Center
On my knees I bend in roadside
gravel & attempt prayer. No solace.
Down here on earth I thrash
my head against cold stone. No answers.
I place my first, last & middle
name–plus his–on a prayer chain. I tried.
At mountainside I hide my face
in my hands & weep. Better now.
9 thoughts on "Finding the Center "
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Oh the anguish feels very real in this one, Linda. This has a wonderful call-and-response feel to it.
like waiting for some one to pick up the phone.
this form punches
ring-ring
ring-ring
ring-ring
ring-ring
i love roadside gravel &attempted prayer.
I place my first, last & middle
name–plus his–on a prayer chain. I tried.
…Better now.
Someone besides mother calling out all the names. 😉
roadside/gravel & attempt prayer.
Gravel so much stronger & vivid than other choices you could have made. I like so much.
Yup, I’m with Melva.
” Roadside gravel ”
Is so strong.
and coming at the beginning of then poem it tells us that the anguish
Is so deep that a journey was interrupted and you fell from your car in agony. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone that this is a true story.
the center of this poem is found in your word choice of “bend” – you make us feel it sharply and softly ❤️
Kneeling on gravel — the thought makes my knees wince.
I like the lyrical quality of this. It has narrative but feels more like a song.
I’m glad you’re better now.
This felt like great loss to read this—the pain of it—and that feeling is the glue of it, making sense of the details of the story —or the one you can piece together.
This tells what we don’t see at memorials as we pass by. A very powerful poem.
I like the call and response of this,
the tension that finds its resolutuon
Another powerful poem, Linda. Your grief is palpable.