I keep quitting iTunes.
It keeps starting up anew,
my old mate Dutch singing:
‘When things go wrong,
so wrong with you,
it hurts me too.‘
It’s not even the first song
on the list. Three down, still it plays
every time — after I switch it off.
He’s dead. He was a friend.
Even so, I don’t think he hurts
that bad for my hurt.
Is it Bill (my ex-husband, dead too)?
They were close. And Bill
loved all Dutch’s music. Yes,
he might use that for a message,
and he would care that much
if I was hurting. (I am.)
Someone’s about.
My black cat prowls every room
stalking something unseen, hissing.
He normally doesn’t react
when Bill drops in for a visit.
What’s different now?
Andrew, the living husband,
tells me he has excruciating pain.
He thinks he will have to leave me.
Is it Death that lurks
in my house? Is that the hurt
I am both warned of and comforted for?
Submitted to The Poetry Pantry #91 at Poets United
and Open Night #35 at dVerse.
whew...nice write...heavy a bit...and that death lingers a bit...this is really well done all the little touches to build the case for it too...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brian. I'm glad you think it works. (Funny, I nearly used 'lingers' instead of 'lurks' for Death.)
ReplyDeleteI like this very much...dark, but hell....sometimes life is very, very dark.
ReplyDeleteLady Nyo
Oh Rosemary, so sad, so sad. The cat IS definitely seeing spirits. Such hard passages, life gives us. We are standing with you, in friendship and support.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea, with modern technology taking the place of the traditional Ouija board. Effectibe, and ominous.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a message from beyond, or just a visit through the cat. Very dark, but I agree with Lady Nyo, sometimes, life is just that!
ReplyDeleteha...spooky indeed...need to check my itunes settings...smiles...enjoyed the verse - how it builds....goose bumps...smiles
ReplyDeleteThe older one gets, the more death is hiding in the simplest of memories, suggestions, smells...music is indeed, one of the worst, and you can turn off the iPod, but you can't turn off your head. Good work in this one, Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteI very much like the directness of this poem-- and a simplicity that yields to depth of feeling-- xxxj
ReplyDeleteI'm loving this poem-- it's sad and haunting, the title fits and gives it a kind of whimsy
ReplyDeleteSurreal, yet, a touch of real at the same time; and wonderfully written. Nicely done!
ReplyDeletehttp://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/against-the-wall/
Thank you all for the kind comments!
ReplyDelete