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Friday, October 20, 2023

Grief / Remembrance Poem

 Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Bridget (who has a new anthology brewing!) at wee words for wee ones for Roundup.

Last week's Fall Festival and gardening conference were lovely and enriching! I also really enjoyed presenting about my MOON book to readers at Homewood Public Library in conjunction with their Eclipse Party. Y'all they served Moon Pies and Sun Chips. Fun, yes? I love libraries and librarians and book people of all ages!  

I'm still working on getting all the spring bulbs planted. Plus a new friend gifted me with iris bulbs, so those need to go in the ground, too. It will all be worth it come spring!

After months of talking about rearranging and organizing the office, Paul and I finally emptied the room and have begun sorting and such. Not a fun chore, but gotta be done, right? Next up: painting our bedroom!

I've got a couple of craft-y/re-purposing projects in progress, including these little pillows I cut and created from a larger project I salvaged from a thrift store. Aren't they adorable?!


Today's ArtSpeak: LIGHT poem features art by one of my new favorite artists Henri Le Sidaner. He must have been an introvert, because nearly all of his pieces feature places of calm and solitude. I feel quite at home in all of them, and they touch that bittersweet part of me. And he had a garden, which I'd love to visit! I wrote a poem "If You Want to Make Me Happy" last month after one of his other pieces, and I suspect I will return to him in the future. 

For now, I offer you a poem for the brokenhearted, for those who have loved and lost...or for those who are simply missing a loved one. Thanks so much for reading!


I Remember You in Autumn

I remember you in the hush of early morning
beside a house with a thousand windows
on a lonely street dotted with damp leaves
where the whole world shimmers in a puddle
lit by the glow of the brokenhearted
and for a breath you are here,
you are here

- Irene Latham

13 comments:

  1. Sighhhhh....Irene. This is so lovely and so perfectly captures love and grief. Your little pillows enchant me! xoxo

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  2. As someone you lives miles and miles from my loved ones, your poem strikes a chord with me, Irene. Longing, loss, and love are interwoven in our hearts.

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  3. Heartwrenchingly beautiful poem, Irene! I'm not that familiar with Sidaner's art, so thanks for featuring that gorgeous image. Your little pillows are adorable!!!

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  4. Beautiful, Irene, your tiny pillows, and the poem's window into grief. I love "and for a breath" especially! Enjoy your gardening!

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  5. "for a breath you are here" ah, yes. Brief capture of a moment when you feel that lost one's presence. Such a beautiful and bittersweet poem. Good luck with the gardening and the cleaning out. Chores that are good for the soul (soil).

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  6. Adorable pillow, Irene! You never cease to amaze me with your many talents. "Lit by the glow of the brokenhearted" -- so beautiful!

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  7. Irene, you've captured such universal longing with such specific details. I recently finished listening to Bittersweet, and I loved it. Next up, I need to go back through and take notes from all the segments I clipped. And do some thinking. THanks xo

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  8. Moon pies and sun chips -- that's some kind of creative!
    Plus, those wee pillows! So fun!
    But your poem...a sigh of sadness and longing, perfectly matched to the painting.

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  9. Really love "the whole world shimmers in a puddle." Beautiful!

    Also love that the eclipse event featured moon pies and Sun Chips! How clever!

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  10. The specificity in your poem paints such a vivid picture and makes me feel the loss so poignantly. It is truly lovely, as are your pillows.

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  11. "and for a breath you are here" -- When a memory glimpses its way into our throats, and then is gone. Mmm...love this.

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  12. Like others have mentioned "and for a breath you are here" is so touching. We call relate to that feeling of a loss and a loved one being with us once again. So lovely, Irene. You tiny pillows are adorable!

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  13. Irene-I love these lines:
    where the whole world shimmers in a puddle
    lit by the glow of the brokenhearted
    What a beautiful background and the words are so carefully chosen.

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Your thoughts?