Who We Are When Time Catches Us Not Breathing
Delving into the old boxes—
my mother’s left things—
we find the photo
finger worn and faded.
A riotous background,
maybe California,
all gush and bloom.
Her hair dark music
flowing thin shoulders.
Lips plump scarlet
in dazzled excitement.
She is haloed inside
the hug of a man
whose smile echoes hers.
He is not our father.
We pause in her passing,
romanticize a wartime affair,
him not making it home,
she despairing.
Invent some Romeo
and Juliet narrative
cleaving that paradise.
Too many questions.
No one left to ask.
Consider this:
hidden in a jewelry box,
the back of a cluttered closet,
the pocket of an old flannel shirt,
do we all, in our deeper hymns,
hoard some pondered keep,
some ravished heart
of what might have been?
14 thoughts on "Who We Are When Time Catches Us Not Breathing"
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GORGEOUS POEM!!
do we all, in our deeper hymns,
hoard some pondered keep,
some ravished heart
of what might have been?
WOW – such a relatable, but fresh and beautiful rendering of this universal experience
The title alone is devastatingly beautiful! And the deeper hymns – lovely.
Agreed with those comments above.
Adore the concept and carry-through.
That last stanza, and the turn of its question, are luminous and heartbreaking and all too obvious an answer (for this heart).
Very very nice
I love that last stanza, “our deeper hymns” and I think yes we do!
Thought-provoking title. as Jennifer said, a poem in itself
Beautiful poem!
Thank you all for your kind and generous comments!
This is gorgeous. Very well crafted and compressed. Congrats on such a lovely poem.
Sylvia – the answer is yes!!! and I love ‘halo’ used as a verb.
‘All gush and bloom’ is luscious!
And, who could not read this after seeing the title!
What a fabulous poem–the images, the questions asked, so exquisite.
You have written into this so much of what we as poets hope to do. Powerful, evocative, memorable.
Oh Sylvia! This poem is both intimate and universal, asking the question of what might have been! Beautiful imagery – the dark music of her hair, dazzled lips! This poem really reaches inside me and strums my heart!
Beautiful. I looked at last two stanzas and thought they could stand alone as a poem. Then reconsidered the other stanzas and thought the same thing! 2 in 1!