Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Curtain Parted




SATURDAY CENTUS
supplied the title.

THE CURTAIN PARTED

It was just a glimpse in passing,
Just a glance and nothing more,
Just a quiver of a curtain,
Where no stir had been before.
Just a flash of dark eyes watching,
Just a blur of a frightened face,
Just a sense of desperation
Before the curtain fell in place.
Maybe I had been mistaken;
Maybe there was nothing there;
Maybe my imagination
Had made me hesitate and stare.
Foolish me, to see a drama
In a breeze-blown curtain's fall!
I shrugged my shoulders, almost laughing,
There was nothing there at all!
But still the visionary instant
Lingered with me all the day.
And my eyes sought out the window
As I homeward made my way.
Heavy curtains drawn completely!
Nothing sinister to see.
Fanciful! Thus I described it,
That image that had worried me.
Till, next day, I read headline,
'Murder victim number two!'
Till I saw the young girl's picture
And there was nothing I could do.
*
--------------------------------------------------------

A song I wrote for International Women's Day some years ago. Sorry it's late this time.

HALF THE WORLD

When half of the world seeks for justice
When half of the world seeks for peace
It's absolutely certain that, given time,
The threat of war can cease.
When half of the world seeks compassion
When half of the world hates to fight
It's absolutely certain that, given time,
The future can look bright.
Too long we have stood in the shadows,
Like plants without the sun.
Let us step forth into the blazing light
For the good of everyone.
Our half of the world has the numbers,
Our half of the world has the power
It's absolutely certain that, given time,
We can have our finest hour.
We can lead the way
Into a brand new day
For we are Half of the World.
*

18 comments:

Kim Lehnhoff said...

Loved the poem! Excellent job!

Living In Williamsburg Virginia said...

Beautiful post.

Darryl and Ruth : )

Linda M. said...

Brenda, I'm really enjoying your poetry and your song. Curtain Parted is compelling. Your song is so timely. Have a great day.

21 Wits said...

Oh my, oh my, what to do...the mystery of it all...what a fantastic photo to go along with your stunning poem!

Judie said...

You are just sooo good at this!!!!!

Dazee Dreamer said...

wow, great poem. and now, I'm sad for the girl.

Tgoette said...

Very entertaining pieces! You are quite a talented writer! Well done!

Jo said...

wow, that was very compelling... you are one talented lady!

gautami tripathy said...

I was totally engrosed..

stretched drums

Unknown said...

Excellent! I am so glad that you posted as is, and did not try to keep within the 100 words.

Best wishes,
Anna
Anna's SC week 46 'curtain parted'

Kat said...

Excellent use of the prompt. This was so well written, I can tell that the words just flowed. Well done! Kat

Susan Anderson said...

Loved your centus! It had a Poe-like feeling...like reading about the raven and wondering with a feeling of foreboding where the whole thing was headed.

Excellent!

=)

Tracy said...

excellent post

cj Schlottman said...

A little creepy but well crafted! You caught everyone's attention with this poem.

Namaste..........cj

gaelikaa said...

Deep and thought provoking. Well done!

PhotoDiction said...

"Curtain Parting" describes everyone's nightmare of seeing something, letting imagination take hold in a ghoulish way, and then the feeling of despair, helplessness, perhaps even guilt when that sense of foreboding culminates in a crime.

Very tightly and masterfully written.

jabblog said...

It is difficult to know when to intervene in such circumstances. How dreadful to carry such remorse.

Jenny said...

This was amazing. Wow. It was so visual...you pulled me in, made me wonder, made me mourn.

Really excellent. I'm impressed.