(C) 1705
Butterfly
~For Mama
Ten years since colored leaves fell gracefully
outside your window while you watched
your final day fade from peachy glow
to silvery gloaming to black velvet
night. Then my hand let go your
hand with sleep coming on
and in thin dawn I woke
when your flight was
just here and now -
there - and there,
and where
ever and
ever.
© MLydiaM October 2010
This poem is my offering for Mag 38. The photo prompt below was posted at Magpie Tales one day after
I posted my poem, which seems altogether prescient so I am cheating a little bit.
.
36 comments:
nice...i like the descent in your structure...losing a mom...my wife lost hers about 3 years ago...and i gave the funeral....tough, so tough...she had been dying for 2 years though so there was some relief...
This is a beautiful and moving piece of poetry. Thank you for sharing such a personal experience with such exquisite emotion.
Cheers!
Julie
Julie Magers Soulen Photography
I lost my dad two years ago this November and I know that release (on both sides).
I love the metaphor of the butterfly and the way it falls in your poem.
Kat
Brian~ Your comments meant a lot. I feel for your wife in the loss of her mom. It sounds as if you were a wonderful solace for her, as my husband was at that time.
Julie Magers Soulen~ Thank you for your kind comments and your smiling photo always makes me feel better!
Kat~ Thank you. Two years is still so fresh...ten years seems like yesterday and forever wrapped in one. Experiencing the death of a loved one around the traditional holiday season gives the loss a special sense of gravitas. At least that is what it has seemed to me...so different than, say, May or June.
Very beautiful, Lydia. All of us, who have lost a close loved one can identifiy. Thanks for sharing :)
Really nice! I like it! Thanks
This is a great write. It's funny that you say you cheated because I modified one from about an hour ago that seemed perfect to the prompt and allowed me the freedom to further explore. Nice Mag here. Love and Light, Sender
This is wonderful. My mother died three years ago and my dad 11 months ago. I was able to be with them both, and I'm grateful for that, but I have never been able to express any of it in words as beautiful as yours.
Kay, Alberta
An awesome poem - I love the shape, the colors in the first few lines fading to black night as hands let go... I don't know what to say really, it's beautiful in its sentiment and its rendering. Thank you.
Cheat all you want this was lovely. actually rather soothing as I read , as many poems written for a mother can often be.
Very poignant. Time is meaningless it seems when you lose a loved one. At once it can be like yesterday.
"...their silence as deafening as the infinity of dreams in eternal sleep..."
unbearable yet riveting.. i want to read it again and ponder,,
Your prescience was rewarded with a suitable prompt. Very touching piece.
My mom died 7 yrs ago. I still miss her. It's tough.
Looking to the Stars~ Yes, the common condition that we all share. Who was it that said: Life. None of us will get out of it alive. (or something close to that).
annell~ So glad that you do. :)
senderupwords~ That is uncanny and I know what you mean about having "the freedom to further explore." Being done this early is going to give me lots more time to read Magpies this week than I have had thus far. :)
Kay L. Davies~ I so appreciate your comment. My condolences on the recent loss of your father, and still-recent loss of your mother. Even after ten years, a tender tear did spill this day (and it did take ten years before I wrote one poem about it....)
gospelwriter~ Well, I found your comment to be awesome and I thank you so much for the goosebumps. (Re: the shape, I did not realize until after it was posted that the shape resembles one wing...)
Bloggin'withAmanda~ Soothing...what an honor to have that word attached to my poem because it is a word I would definitely attach to the feelings I have when remembering my mother.
Southwest Arkie~ Your words gave me a real sense of support and solace, and validation regarding that time thing.
Arian~ I wonder about the quote at the beginning of your comment. It is beautiful and perhaps is from someone else's Magpie? If that is so, I hope I will happen upon that Magpie as I read this week. Thank you for being here.
Doc FTSE~ Thanks much. I believe you are so right about the reward of this prompt! It felt like that to me...one of those a-ha! moments.
kathi harris~ You have my sympathy and I do know how you feel. It is as if, with the passage of time, we are "expected" to no longer feel (or express) our sense of loss when it wells up. Without my blog and all of you I would have definitely stuffed my feelings around this anniversary of her death. Thank you, gratefully.
I love the last few lines! it does allow freedom from a very tough good-bye.
My mother died in pieces over the course of many years. Thanks!
Beautiful. I know your mother is smiling.
(no, this wasn't cheating at all, not at all)
Hauntingly beautiful. These words will follow me today. (Hugs)Indigo
gentle,bravo
Lydia- this is so poignantly beautiful. Wonderful imagery and words.
this so accurately captures the feeling I had when I lost my Dad.
I love the here, there..everywhere
Lydia this is a beautiful tribute to your Mom....truly beautiful!
:-)
That is truly a beautiful piece and such a lovely accompaniment to the photos. Warm wishes, Kristen
Exquisite piece...raw and sweet.
izzy~ I love the second sentence in your comments!
Having a parent die the way you described your mother's death takes a real toll on the family/caregiver. Mine was over the course of two years so I have some idea.
willow~ You are so generous and kind. Thank you for these amazing photo prompts and this community.
Indigo~ Knowing that made you seem close and that helped me today (not the best day but for reasons aside from my post). So thank you, friend.
Ian~ Thank you kindly.
kathew~ I am so pleased you appreciated it.
Rene/NTR~ I am touched that you were touched by my words.
Carrie Burtt~ So sweet of you to say that. Thank you!
Kristen Haskell~ Thank you. The power of an image to waken the muse is greater than I ever would have imagined. :)
Tumblewords~ I thank you for those words "raw and sweet." They are so descriptive of what that time was for me, what it is for so many others too.
Mine went just earlier this year. A lovely piece, this.
x
"..my hand let go your
hand with sleep coming on
and in thin dawn.." Such a moving line.
Lydia, this was a great write... Its too painful to see your loved ones die in front of your eyes..I saw my grand mom the same way.. I wish she's now happy since she was in a lot pain for a long time...
Beautiful and moving piece, liked the writing style...
I like this touching piece... remembering last moments.
wow! thanks for sharing such a personal moment
Rachel Fox~ Oh, my sympathy goes out to you. Peace. x
Martin H.~ Thank you, Martin. My favorite line in the poem, also.
Abhilasha~ Thank you for your kind comments and also for sharing about your dear grandmother.
Reflections~ Many thanks to you.
e@thejoyofbeingamonkeywrench~ My pleasure, of course. And I must say your profile name is one of the most unusual I have seen!
Lydia, this is a beautiful piece. It gave me chills and a lump in my throat.
Angie~ I am honored if it touched you like that. Am looking forward to reading your latest Magpie.
Beautiful - yes, I always wait for the butterflies every year, and I talk to her, to him. They never stick around for very long, so I try to be mindful and meaningful, quickly :) I live with my parents, and give thanks for the joy of every day's laughter.
Very moving. I like the reference to her 'flight' being here. Nice Magpie.
Shaista~ Seems that we are butterfly lovers together, because I quietly celebrate their arrival and any moments they choose to be around me.
I was so moved by your last line...your entire comment, actually. Thank you.
Sue J~ Thank you kindly for reading and commenting again this week. :)
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