THREE WORD WEDNESDAY
asks us to use these three words
crumble/grief/uneasy
GRIEF
I felt uneasy, knocking the door.
I had visited Beth many times before,
But now Carl had died and things had changed.
Beth's life would have to be re-arranged.
What would I say? Would there be tears?
They had been married for fifty years!
She greeted me with the her brightest smile,
Said 'Amy! It's been quite a while!
Come inside and have some tea!
As they say 'long time no see!
How are the children? All well, I trust.
You must tell me everything.....you really must.'
I felt relief, she was, clearly, coping;
Accepting things, not sitting moping.
We drank our tea, spoke of this and that,
Enjoying our little fireside chat.
But, suddenly..... silence. I looked across
And there was reality, pain and loss.
Beth's face was drawn, she gazed into space
With grief etched into her aged face.
I saw a life crumble before my eyes;
Her cheerful chitchat revealed as lies.
'Oh Beth!' I said, in a helpless way.
*
After all, there was nothing else to say.
*
--------------------------------------------------------
THE RIVER OF LOVE
'Love at first sight' is heady; it's positively magic.
But heed my words for delirium can sometimes become tragic!
*
Right at the beginning it springs up from the ground,
Tiny, effervescent, bright, with a tinkling, laughing sound.
It springs up from the lover's heart, unspoken and quite shy,
But it grows in strength and certitude as the loving days go by.
It tumbles down the mountain side, young and full of joy;
That first kiss, that promise, so bold, no longer coy.
And now the bliss of waterfalls, deep gorges, bounding waves,
When love engulfs the lovers and is everything one craves.
Now comes the river's fullness, it enters the boundless plain,
Edged with romantic flowers, filled with life-giving rain.
But what is this? The river forks, to the left and to the right!
One way is to gentler waters, flowing bountiful and bright,
The other to a muddy creek, which narrows as it goes,
Carrying pain and angry words, sluggishly it flows.
The creek is just a dead-end; our river has to die,
Leaving bitter memories as the passing years go by.
But, if we should be so fortunate as to win love's lottery,
Our river can flow on its way, peacefully, to the sea.
Oh, there may be no rapids, no towering cliffs to thrill;
But it now flows between verdant banks, and we know it always will.
*
12 comments:
I'm sorry for Beth's loss but it's good she has you.
THe second is so true would that we could all win love's lottery
very realistic portrayal of someone dealing with grief
Grief well observed-
your rhymes are truly phenomenal.....I don't know what else to say but thanx.....
A beautiful poem in which you have captured the awkwardness of compassion that can't really help but oh so much would like to try...
Oh, Brenda, there's no one quite like you, no poetry quite as insightful as yours.
K
Fantastic use of the three words. Wonderful character sketch.
Great use of three words. Please read my attempt.
Both poems are really well done, and Grief was amazing. To say everything you were able to say, in a rhymed poem and with those three words, yet, astonishing!
You have brought out her loss verbatim. It really is sorry to hear about her loss. the lines "a life crumbling" are so true for the moment described.
Both poems were so well written. Coping with grief can sometimes make one appear strong but inside it still hurts so much.
beautifully captured. So often people put on a front as they think it's for the best, but by taking the time you let her be real. I'm glad she has someone like you.
Grief: pretending, if only for a moment, that all is okay can be a reprieve from the grief coursing inside. Just being there—for the idle chit chat and the silence—is enough.
The River of Love: if only we were all so lucky as to find our way down the correct side of the fork.
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