This autumn finds you
removed from anyone who knew.
Only the maple is at your mercy;
its leaves crunch around the stone
with enough respect.
I no longer panic about the cracks.
The uncomfortable damp.
Something from the basement
is buried with secrets.
The dreams have stopped.
Your eyes stay in their sockets;
two dark-stained walnuts,
bitter and tenacious.
All the dead are pious.
It suits you.
It suits you.
tk/October 2014
Perfectly delivered by R.A.D. Stainforth...
Perfectly delivered by R.A.D. Stainforth...
What a wonderful bitterness.. I love the image of the walnut eyes.
ReplyDeleteI especially like these two lines:
ReplyDeleteSomething from the basement
is buried with secrets.
Being buried is rather like being in a dark dank basement.
loved every damn word...you can almost smell it!!
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of little deaths in autumn ...too many of them make you go blind !
ReplyDeleteYikes!
ReplyDelete"The dreams have stopped.
Your eyes stay in their sockets"
ReplyDelete...the horror...the horror
We also love the walnut eyes...
ReplyDeleteGreat lines, Tess.
ReplyDeletebeautifully chosen words
ReplyDeleteThere's a powerful tension here between formal commemoration after passing and less benign resonances from life. Very finely balanced, Tess. And unsettling!
ReplyDeleteTess - always innovative, always compelling, always thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, Happy Birthday,Tess!
ReplyDeleteI can feel the woody nightshades pulled tightly around a resolution ....now gained....and life is new again. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe first line just makes me stop breathing.... ~ Happy Birthday, Tess! xx
ReplyDeleteThis is deliciously dark ... love it! Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteThe last lines really stunned me. Every line was perfect. I see everyone wishing you happy birthday, so of course, hope you have a wonderful birthday.
ReplyDeleteI once had a French friend who would utter, "Superb!", in a frenchy accent, at something that struck his fancy.
ReplyDeleteSuperb ~
This has a dark and bitter feel....intense and wonderful coupled together here Tess....amazing as always! :-) Hope your day yesterday was as beautiful as you are.
ReplyDelete"all the dead are pious" ~ perfect!
ReplyDeleteamazing images!
ReplyDelete"All the dead are pious!" Indeed! Loved your poem Tess and "the eyes stay in thier sockets." Are you ready for Halloween? <3
ReplyDeleteWhew. Tess, this is outstanding … and I have a feeling is a place where a LOT of poetry could come from. I recognize this a bit as I have a place similar yet do not feel able to write about it yet. Loved it, truly loved it.
ReplyDeleteThey say the acorn
ReplyDeletedoesn't fall far from the tree
In many ways so like thee
but often locked horns
Where you are timid
I have never feared to go.
The seed you nourished did grow
with no imposed limits.
sorry, don't have a magpie account. I also don't know if there is a 5a7b7b5a rhyming and rhythm scheme. And I do know the wording is awkward and twisted to meet said scheme. But this image made me think how from my mother's life, and though I perceive (whether true or not) the limitations SHE places on HERSELF, I have grown and thrived with a life that she is always cautioning me against, but could never stop me from living because I think she is amazing, strong, and capable of anything...I mean, she's my mom and can do ANYTHING;)
Another interesting mom - "bitter and tenacious_
ReplyDeleteRight. We dare not speak poorly of the dead. As if dying absolves one of sin. I like how you avoided any sappy sentimentality, always the temptation where mothers are concerned.
ReplyDeleteAh, Autumn puts all things to rest. Well said.
ReplyDeleteAll the dead are pious.
ReplyDeleteIt suits you.
One takes demise as obliterating ills of life. One goes in a nice way. More so in this case. He seems to have been a nice person as it suited him. Great lines Tess!
Hank