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Once More
The shadowy silence surrounds her now,
The abuse is done,
She‘s still stunned.
He sleeps beside her now,
The apoligies repetitive,
The blame placed.
It is through,
And she is supposed to rest.
It is finished
once more.
Rae, you left us a bit too
Rae, you left us a bit too soon---but I speak that from your absence that pains my heart, and not from a defiance of the decision of Christ to call you to His eternal home, which He now shares with you, among the stars. I look forward to meeting you in person when I arrive there, perhaps even sooner than I think. As I write this, I borrow a concept from T. S. Eliot who wrote after the passing of the novelist Charles Williams that Heaven seemed more real now that Williams was there; and I thought that exact thought, just a moment ago. I even felt I could see its starlit edges in that brilliant cerulean color I believe it to have. I hope that whoever might read this comment in passing might visit your poems on comment on them more up to date than the present comments on them are.
I thank you that when the interloper, who so often back then tried to "ride my coattails," inserted himself into our conversations, you treated him with the compassion that I felt he no longer deserved. You were a better Christian then than I am now.
Starward
i feel like in the back of her mind she finished with 'for now...'
striking, lonely, haunting, sad and compelling
loved xx
As always with your poems, Rae, I am amazed at how much of a background and back-story is implied in such a small space of such few words. This is poetry at its finest---the greatest amount of emotion compressed into the most economical words. This is how the ancients wrote; and this is what makes any poet who writes thus, and specifically your poems, timeless and classic. The implied Biblical quote in the next-to-last line adds an aspect that lesser poets would have missed. I am very impressed, although I suspect that great pain and distress inspired this poem (and for that, my heart goes out). I admire and applaud your accomplishment here.
Starward
Forgive me for intruding a second time, but I neglected to mention three words that apply to this poem: elegant, economical, and profound. Elegant it is because the voice is understated, very controlled, and it sounds very factual and convincing. Economical it is because such few words have created an entire front and back story. Profound it is because the depth of emotion runs very, very deep---and what is between the words is as important as what is between the lines. I have often privately considered that the posting of one of your poems is an event of some importance; and this poem dramatically extends the evidence in support of that view.
Starward