I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

20 January 2018

Summer Evening

The heat cools to comfortably mild.
I look out the front door
and see, on the top step,
my dear man taking the air
in his chair on the landing.

Our pantherish old black cat, Levi,
sprawls near him on the mat.
Tortoiseshell Freya is curled up neatly 
close by on the second step.

And there's me. I am sitting  
on the top step, leaning back
against the rails: positioned to see,
talk to and touch all three....

             *********

It's five years ago and more. 
All of them are dead now.
Even on such a pleasant evening
I never sit, these days, on 
the front steps, enjoying the air.


Sharing at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #388.

Featured by Sherry at Poets United in Poems of the Week: Furry Feline Friends We Have Known and Loved, along with poems by Toni Spencer and Susan Chast.

34 comments:

  1. Oh, i can see that vision of perfect happiness, and understand you not being able to sit thrre now. I was never able to go back to our wild river, once Pup was gone.

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  2. I haven't visited your work for a while! The sadness here is almost palpable. Grieving comes in waves I think. Hope you are well, even if only sort of!

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  3. Oh, this poem makes me sad, Rosemary, for all that is lost in the passing of time.

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    1. And it was written in a moment of sadness for exactly that ... but after all, it is a joy as well as a grief to recall those things, which can only be lost because we once were blessed to have them.

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  4. A poignant pleasure to read it again. Such memories bring gratitude along with the pain of loss. Sigh. Written so beautifully, my friend.

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  5. It's sad, poignant yet such precious moments of happiness fill the heart. So beautifully penned.

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  6. It has a real pastoral feel to it until the end. Interesting how be attibute meaning to things and times.

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  7. Oh that packed a punch at the end, after starting out so gently... poignant and wonderfully written.

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  8. A sad loss..I hope you find a different sitting spot

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  9. This is so real and sad at the same time... I so hope you can find joy in sitting outside again.

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  10. Re-visiting this spot in your heart is something that must have a reassurance to it.

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  11. Pets certainly do this to you even though they have shorter lives than us. I remember every pet dog, cat or injured wild bird that became part of the family that somehow gave us a feeling of contentment that we shared our world with them.

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  12. This is so heart-wrenching, Rosemary! We tend to associate memories with a certain place.. and when there becomes a void in our heart.. can no longer visit there without tearing up.

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    1. I have to go in and out my front door all the time, so I mostly don't let myself dwell on what was ... but sometimes....

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  13. So very poignant. The comfort of that night and the pain of the loss are both vividly rendered.

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  14. The loss is deeply felt. I can understand the not wanting to sit there again. Sometimes, memories flood back and emotional tide we are not ready to ride.

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  15. The ending of your poem caught me off guard. I was expecting a reflection on the pleasures of domestic life. Instead, I was confronted with death. But such is life!

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  16. Such a poignant write Rosemary and its ending made me ache with sadness.
    Your response to Mary's comment is so wise. Your joy in the having of what is now lost is the wonder of memories, what we can still hold so close.
    Anna :o]

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  17. The poem does the job because it made my eyes wet. A scene snipped as if a living photo.

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  18. a poignant write. such a twist at the end!
    i post about a loss today too. sometimes our memories take a better grip over the common sense.

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  19. Sadness in the air, but also memory. Painfully beautiful how you crafted that.

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  20. Your memory is sharp detail, but we are told, nothing is ever lost. And those we love live in our hearts. I have not gone back to see my life as it was, but it resides in me all the same. Sometimes I can even laugh at it all. I think as we age, we look around, and see, they are gone, all gone from this present moment. But how good they made our lives by their presence.

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  21. That final stanza completely transforms the whole poem.

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  22. Stunning close. Beautifully crafted piece.

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  23. This is such an endearing tribute, Rosemary. The last part of the poem made me realize again that life is temporary but we can make memories to live by.

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  24. Oh my...as all should pass.
    Great thoughts/poem
    ZQ

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  25. A touching write, Rosemary, and one with which I can definitely identify. Thank you for sharing.

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  26. Ah but insight and memories add a touch of back to the past that's wonderful for you I'm sure

    Have a nice Sunday

    much love...

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  27. Beautiful! You have sketched the moment, so tenderly. These bitter-sweet remembrances are only: thus, because we loved - so much - and they are gone from us now.

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  28. Still, a balanced and beautiful 4-some in memory. And one poem to preserve and to share the intimacy.

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  29. Life is so sad. When I read poems like this I know my turn will come one day.I always think how can they endure this pain....but somehow one does. Beautiful poem.

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