Reflections
In shame, I seek forgiveness,
never to stop looking for it. Mother,
dysfunction lulls the furnace—
Father, dysfunction, dampens
the furnace. Frozen, the lakes once
beautiful, now not a hint of flowing water.
Father says
I am his failure,
and my failure,
to not have stood up
as he taught me.
I cannot breathe. My lips drawn,
a dry ink pen writing
deadsy shattered sonnets.
7 thoughts on "Reflections"
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I really like the third stanza. I like how it seems to almost shrivel away from the second, and how the placement of “not” feels intentionally awkward, limping even—and, of course, the play on “stood up”. The whole feeling of the third stanza, the way it moves, the little irony of “as he taught me”…Really good. Great poem.
Very good. Great ending. Heartbreaking. One of your best.
Devastating. Strong and powerfully wrought.
deadsy shattered snnets!
great!
2nd and 3rd stanzas — whew. Great write, Manny,
Great work, Manny: skilled and full of honest feeling.
The sense of failure belied, of course, by the quality of the poem.
Sly of you.
All of you, thank you.