Sunday, August 03, 2008

yellowed piece of paper

This I wrote for my mom. A very rough draft.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yellowed and tattered
that piece of paper holds her heart
not a single days passes
without her taking it out
almost devouring it
her name,
only a few words in the middle
and his signed name at the end
she knows the words
yet can't resist taking it out
every morning
dull purple behind her eyes
can't take away the love only she can see
her first and last love letter from him
he never wrote another
in the forty five years they spent together
they never even said they loved each other

transcending time and space,
love can be never be a folly
he is gone but lives forever for her

42 comments:

barbs.haiku said...

You may consider it a rough draft, but I think it's simply wonderful. A bittersweet love story in front, followed by the epitaph. Thanks for this beauty!

Anonymous said...

"transcending time and space,
love can be never be a folly"_
many thanks for sharing a wonderful sentiment..

Sian said...

Just beautiful. Sad but pure.

Anonymous said...

gautami, this is simply beautiful. You say so much in so few lines. This is my favorite thing that you've written. Thank you for sharing it.

Jenn: said...

This one reached and really touched me. Great job.

polona said...

oohhh... this is so beautiful and touching...

Raven said...

This is wonderfully tender and beautiful. ... kind of a love letter to them and their love. Just beautiful.

me ann my camera said...

This is wonderful! I can see the old people who populated my childhood as I read this;loving without the words being said, role modeling them instead by hard work, dedication, endurance and loyalty.

Tumblewords: said...

Poignant piece!

SandyCarlson said...

I think that is wonderful. What a tribute to your parents. This is great. Such love I think I now know. What a dream.

Anonymous said...

Sad and tender. I love it.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

A great description of undieing love.

poefusion said...

This is beautiful, Gautami. Everyone should have a love like this. Have a nice night.

anthonynorth said...

Perfect - in words and message.

Anonymous said...

Was theirs a true love expressed only in private? Or only expressed once? Incredibly moving in either case. Thank you.

Jill said...

that is really sweet and romantic.
But sad, because they never said I love you to each other!

Anonymous said...

I like the way the last stanza changes our expectations. good job

Raven's Wing Poetry said...

Bittersweet and lovely. I think it could stand as a final draft.

-Nicole

Julia Phillips Smith said...

It's funny, but those words on the page that she could read and reread obviously meant the world to her. Perhaps more than hearing them spoken would have done.

Anonymous said...

Very poignant and touching. It's a great poem right now but after you tweak it a bit it will be fantastic!

lissa said...

it's sweet and sad that she still reads it

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

A very fine one, Gautami. How are things with you? Better I hope. Positive thoughts coming your way...

Anonymous said...

It is just beautiful!

Crafty Green Poet said...

the reader wonders why only the one letter? there's a whole story in that poem.

Anonymous said...

*Silence*

LA Nickers said...

What a memory . . . of true love.

Thanks for stopping by at THE MANE POINT.

Blessings,
Linda

MEME EXPRESS – daily blog prompts

Anonymous said...

This is a love poem!

Anonymous said...

It's so wonderful of you to write a piece for your mom... and so sad to think of a couple spending so many years together without expressing their love this way. You've captured her hunger so touchingly here!

Edward S Gault said...

Love is expressed alot of different ways-yet it is the same feeling, and can make us us all feel foolish at times. It might be possible that they never said it because they could see it in each other's eyes.
This is a lovely poem! Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Very cool that you see/sense/understand how they did love one another and how your mom still feels that way.

Anonymous said...

a measured tone, almost a lament. The colors are lovely, yellow, purple. I can see the letter she has kept for so long very clearly.Very nice, gautami.

mareymercy said...

Very sweet. A simple poem to describe a simple letter that reveals a complex relationship.

UL said...

oh i could imagine her taking it out, her eye scanning word for word, reading, feeling, living...beautiful and touching.

Anonymous said...

bittersweet and beautiful

jorc
empty garden

Patois42 said...

How grateful she must be that she can see his love in his own words, no matter how long ago they were penned.

Whitesnake said...

So times ya dont have to say it "I Love you" Ya just do it!

DeLi said...

touching!

Lenore said...

What a lovely poem, and a beautiful insite into a your mum. Has she seen it yet?

Jessica said...

gorgeous & touching

Anonymous said...

So poignant. All those things unsaid now put into words.

Anonymous said...

Gautami - perfect slice of marriage, of reality, of love. Thank you. It is one poem I will always remember.

Anonymous said...

What a detailed specific image, your mother scanning that letter. A whole love story in this one picture.