Moths in the shape of one moth
hang from the eaves of the porch.
They break pattern at night
then return by day to stay in sight.
The season turns soft late this year,
noticeable only in the darkening
of the dune grasses and bay water.
Pale moon peaks through woolen skeins.
Inside we ignore the pain and failings.
We make each day work as close
as we can to the one before, yet each
ends with fewer words and less breath.
The inner pain burns to ash the recent past.
Yesterday's meals with local news blur to fog.
In the midst of these doldrums, suddenly a passion
fires to a vivid lucid state that lights this day.
A laughing moment of remembrance kept
before falling back to earth a soft dull gray.
Outside the multi-moth figure waivers
as the light shivers and life begins to fade.
© Gay Reiser Cannon * 2011 * All Rights Reserved
Posted for OpenLinkNight @ dVersePoets on 10/18/2011
I love you. I wish I could take the pain away. Yet, I feel so blessed that you have shared your beautiful eloquence with me. I continue to send you love. Somehow it never seems enough. I wish I had more. Blessings to you, my friend,
ReplyDeleteRobin
Thank you Robin, I love you too. I think about you all the time. I'm glad to know you're out there. Maybe again we'll have a chance to meet & talk; I believe we will!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful, so cruel, so real and so hard to accept. Moths all, we just don't know it. My thoughts are with you Gay, every day. I also wish there was a way to reach across this sterile electric construct where we meet, and hold your hand.
ReplyDeletebeautifully painful, Gay! the imagery of moths is very powerful in this piece. great poem my friend!! :) :)
ReplyDeleteVery lovely and vivid imagery Gay... "life begins to fade" is very sad ~
ReplyDeleteI wish you well ~
Wonderfully shared imagery... vivid yet tender as these moments are. You express so well the difficult times as 'life begins to fade'. I'm sorry for what you are going through, wishing I could reach across the miles and hold a hand, letting you know it is okay.
ReplyDeleteYour comments have touched me deeply. I am grateful to know you are there and that you are reading my work. It is its own reward. Very kind of you. I hope this is not sentimental or maudlin; I'm hoping it has a tender, understanding tone with a certain realization of the fleeting aspect of life. Thank you!
ReplyDelete((gay)) it is defintiely tender and from the heart...life is fragile and can quickly slip away from us...this season as well is a constant reminder of that....each day is a gift...and this was beautifully put gay...
ReplyDeleteoh gay i can feel you in every line here...life is fragile and we often forget how soon the light can fade...sending you hugs and lots and lots of love and strength...your poem touches deep...
ReplyDeleteWonderful imagery....lovely poem, wishing you well.
ReplyDeletea beautiful poem Gay, a beautiful photo to compliment your beautiful words, I don't know what you are going through or facing, so i will just say, i truly wish you well, and i am sending light beams to thee.....
ReplyDeleteGay! So much to love about this weave of words, favorites that stood out for me, noticeable only in the darkening of the dune grasses and bay water, this paints such a realistic image for me, yet maintains your poetic voice. Soft, sad, haunting and beautiful Gay.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of making each day work as close as it can to the day before. Much to love in this poem
ReplyDeleteWeave that imagery, oh my masterful friend. Show us how this writing game is played. Delicate lines, beautifully crafted - of life, and death, so emotionally charged. Tender, Gay. Very tender. You make the heart move.
ReplyDeleteOof, and a lovely image to boot. Where on earth did you find (or take) that photo?
Thank you for the comments everyone. I'm glad to hear what you have to say. When I write this way I don't know whether it is too close to be poetry.
ReplyDelete@Chris - I'm sorry to say I don't know where the picture came from. Something I found that struck my fancy along the way. I know I fiddled around and gimped it a bit to get it the way it looks here.
I don't usually put up others work without attributing it, if it's not in common domain but sometimes I don't know. I've been collecting images for years and they're in folders years old.
That picture is amazing, how the moths join together and return after departing. And, your words are amazing, too. Though the hard times hit so hard, you have written beautifully to express it. Each line tender and true.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful, poignant poem, Gay. I too wish you well...
ReplyDeleteMoths in the shape of one moth... you drew me in with that beautiful line, this beautiful poem.
ReplyDeletetoday when I was running a spring green moth flew across my path, and i kept thinking how strange it was, that color, against all those fall leaves.
i felt like it meant something. and here is your poem.
So archly sweet and sad, Gay -- we, like the moths, continue to assemble round the flame even as it flickers out. It's our mortal dance, I guess. I join my voice to Hedgewitch's and say the electric interface is no fence from our sympathies ... Brendan
ReplyDeleteSuch kind sentiments. Some days burn brighter than others for him. Yet dreams, television shows, old movies and snatches of conversation are getting mixed together. Short term memory is sketchy which is hardest for me to understand. He, who spent his life prided on that memory, relying on quick movements and speed of knowledge. How quickly it goes!
ReplyDeleteThe season turns soft late this year,
ReplyDeletenoticeable only in the darkening
of the dune grasses and bay water.
Pale moon peaks through woolen skeins.
These poems closest to the reality of our lives are hardest to see clearly as poetry but yours qualifies in spades. It is tender, beautiful, and true, and your honesty and vulnerability are deeply appreciated. Take good care as you fashion these days. I'm sure you've seen Shadowlands where we hear that the pain of loss is part of our happiness today. This is true of all relationships but especially true and present when we can see the end.
The third stanza really hit me with its power and truth. I'm so thankful that we can still be so amazed by the natural world no matter what else is going on.
ReplyDeleteIt's plain to see from the comments that this poem comes from a specific relationship in your life. Please accept my wishes for peace to your household.
ReplyDeleteThe poem itself is beautiful despite its sad theme. "each ends with fewer words and less breath" - this is something that creeps into my thoughts more and more, as it will everyone as they get older: a street corner I will never walk down again, the page of a book I will never turn to again, and the list goes on. In your comment on my poem you expressed a familiarity with Beckett. It was he who first taught me the primary function of art: the transformation of pain into pleasure/beauty. This poem does that admirably.
This poem drew me in right from that first image.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, sad, profound, that moment of remembrance in the last stanza before falling back...so very poignant.
'In the midst of these doldrums, suddenly a passion
ReplyDeletefires to a vivid sensate state that lights us.
The day has a moment of remembrance' ~ That spark ~
Exquisite Gay ~ so poignant and indeed heart lead and touched ~ you are a master of your art Gay truly ~
I hope you don't mind noting some comments and would like to offer a warm hug of caring support ~ in the hand of friendship and love ~
Lib x x
This is an exquisite, spiritual/symbolic word-painting of autumn. You do such a good job at creating mood and the photo is incredible. I also like the quilted background that adds to the whole atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteThe comment about a sudden passion firing is intriguing here as it is obviously about someone's life actually ebbing away. Beautifully written as you are obviously experiencing this now. Thanks for shaing this. Hugs, Margaret
ReplyDeleteI can sort understand the meaning of bitter sweet after reading your poem. This was really nice.
ReplyDeletemoving words.
ReplyDeleteit is sad to see life slip from us day by day, but only if we focus on positive energy, then we see light and find happiness.
Cheers.
Really lovely--rhythm, pacing, sensations, mood. Hope all is okay.
ReplyDeleteA sense of things coming to a close in this poem. Days can seem passing in mono, dull earthly colors come to mind, dotted with moments of color like freshly fallen flowers, then they too will fade. The image of moths beginning and ending the poem is interesting, they seem to anticipate night. I really love the first stanza where they really drew me in. Thanks for your poem, such beautiful and haunting images.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this journey in words, growth hampered by our own resistance will always force its way through somehow. I felt that in your words ~ Rose
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem, feeling the breath and brevity of life.
ReplyDelete(and I love your quilt background, feels like Autumn).
Gay - my love and prayers go out to you as you journey through this difficult time with your loved one. How blessed are you to be given the opportunity to walk along side of him as he prepares for the ultimate journey to our true home.
ReplyDeleteThis image is amazing and your words even more so. I think the closer our writing is to real life the more poetic it becomes as you openly demonstrate here.
Many blessings, my friend.
Sheila
Great image but the poem eclipses it! (and rightly so)
ReplyDeleteThis evokes a quietness, a solitude, almost a somberness. I'm watching those moths "in the shape of one moth," too. Great poem, Gay.
ReplyDeleteDear Gay,
ReplyDeleteIn our words, we find peace and calm. Acceptance and appreciation. Spirit and life.
Everything else fades. Even pictures. But not your words.
Hugs,
ninotaziz
Gay,
ReplyDeleteThe moths were to disappear a while and be back again can be frustrating. Your words reflect a little sadness of emotions which you had steadfastly been able to control. Beautiful verse!
Hank
P/S thanks for visiting . It must have been such a wonderful honeymoon in Disney and you are always being made to remember it all these years!
Deeply moving and sobering too. We should embrace the lights before it starts to fade. Even then, 'guess one would be grateful for the flickers now and again.
ReplyDeleteHad no idea this was a personal experience. Please accept my comment only on the face of it - a comment on the poem itself as I interpreted it's meaning for me. I pray that all will be well with you as you go through a difficult time.
ReplyDelete@Adura - I wanted this poem accepted or rejected on its merits alone. If it works as a poem it should only be triggered by a personal event but not necessarily be "about" that event.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are facing challenges here; but, everyone is on the train to their destination. As one approaches the end, beauty becomes that much more essential and appreciated. Thank you for both of your comments.
the inner pain. sigh.
ReplyDelete