My glass swan
sits above the computer now
so I can still look at it often.
Its first home was my bedroom
when I was a child. It lived
on top of the bookshelf then.
The top (or back) is a lid.
I keep, inside the cavity of its body,
soft, very tiny feathers.
It shows me all the serenity,
grace and beauty
I always longed to have.
It is like a promise …
though I’m sad to see that one wing
has become chipped.
But in a long life, that is perhaps
to be expected. Its calm beauty,
nevertheless, remains.
.
Submitted for dVerse Meeting the Bar — poems about things.
Beautiful swan, Rosemary. I liked reading its history as well as what it means to you today.
ReplyDeleteYes, isn't it a pretty thing? :)
Deletethe swan has always been a symbol of grace to me....my wife was a ballerina so there is a connection there....cool that inside its body are real feathers...and that you have had it for so long....
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the Swan in that ballet is the ultimate symbol of grace.
DeleteHow nice to own such a beautiful object and have had it for so long! I have very few things that are that old.
ReplyDeleteIt surprises me now, to stop and realise how long I have had it. But it never occurred to me not to keep it, and keep treasuring it.
DeleteSuch a lovely glass swan, chipped but beautiful to look at ~ Cool to read that you have had for a long time, since you were a child ~
ReplyDeleteAlways very special to me.
DeleteI believe it is important to have such belongings to identify with. And they may change. I think I will take a trip, this spring, to the city to find something wonderful myself!
ReplyDeleteEvidently I think it important too, as I have a great love for certain objects, beautiful or with sentimental value, or both.
DeleteWhat a great idea, to go and find something wonderful for yourself!
I believe objects like that are touchstones for our poetry - they travel through time with us, they hold more than feathers, they hold the promise of flying - ourselves. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely thought, Gay!
DeleteHow nice to have a something like this from your childhood. I'm sure, just to look at it gives you comfort.
ReplyDeleteMyrna, it does indeed.
DeleteHow wonderful to still have something from your childhood, Rosemary. We have a large flock of swans living on our river - they are so graceful!!
ReplyDeleteOh, how lucky you are too, to have the living ones nearby!
DeleteThe swans are disappearing from the lakes here in the NW; sad for sure. You really rocked the prompt with this one. Some people, like my wife, have kept stuffed animals from their childhood, but never a beautiful glass swan. Lovely to share; thanks.
ReplyDeleteSad indeed that they are disappearing!
DeleteBeautiful history. Yes, some things maintain their beauty, even when they show the scars of time
ReplyDeleteI, of course, am around the same age, lol.
DeleteAh, I had one of those...beautiful glass with light shining through it...great choice of objectification ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's 'cut glass' really, with details of feathers carved on — but I thought it was stronger in the poem just to say 'glass'.
DeleteLove that you have something from your childhood, Rosemary. I have a couple of things that my grandmother gave me...true treasures to this day. Thanks for sharing the sweetness.
ReplyDeleteAh, I'm glad for you too. :)
Deleteoh wow...that is so cool that you have it since your childhood...cool on the feather collection as well.. swans do have a calming beauty - and the chipped wing makes it even more real
ReplyDeleteThanks,Claudia.
DeleteWhat a treasure to have and to keep.. and how cool with the contrast of the cool chrystal and the feathers inside.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm still child at heart. :)
DeletePerhaps we hold onto things because they are not just things they are stories.
ReplyDeletePerhaps. In this case the story of the little girl I once was.
DeleteI have a blue bird brooch that I have had since I was ten and it was then I wrote my first poem. I have written well over a thousand poems . I would not be able to recite one of them but I remember every word of that one.It is the only poem I know off by heart.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's wonderful, Cressida!
DeleteThe calm beauty of it remains... and that is great. A very sweet write and that is a beautiful glass swan. :-)
ReplyDelete-HA
Little scars and chips show the beauty in aging, and the soft feathers tucked inside, holding dreams or memories? Very nicely done.
ReplyDeleteThanks for seeing what the swan conveys. :)
DeleteThe swan, for me, is such a lovely Totem. I have a small crystal one that was my parents'. Perhaps I need to bring it here, to my writing desk. We had two swans here on a pond outside our kitchen window. The first one died when it was hit by a car. The second one we discovered. It had been killed by an errant golf ball. We mourned.
ReplyDeleteSad that those lovely creatures were killed. Don't bring your crystal swan to your desk if it will give you sad thoughts of those deaths!
DeleteYour swan is like a child's blankie that brings you comfort and peace. I just loved this poem Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteAnd besides, it's beautiful to look at. I'm so glad you enjoyed the poem.
DeleteThat's a lovely piece. How nice it is that you still have this link from your childhood. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, isn't it?
Deletevery beautiful! to say that it has shared a journey with you!
ReplyDelete