Thursday 12 July 2012

Like a river



when you arrived,
i didn't know what name to call you 

my eyes were blind,  
yellowed cheeks, a fading blue star        

your touch was 
a cold crystal grape in winter,

but i knew you like the roots
suddenly growing on my feet

arching to taste your skin,  
unripe mango, salted with earth 

i see your face, bright as the sun 
stirring my blood, river deep   

as i write my verse, 
untie my bow and cut my fears 

let me drift towards your voice,
warm red wine, storm-washed shore   

you have searched for me 
for the longest time  

tell me now:  

i am yours 


~0~0   The second part is my offering for Flash Fiction Friday  (55 words) for G-Man    ~0~0



puffy red-rimmed eyes,
clothes, all black, her favorite color
telling me her daughter’s father passed away
yesterday


   lingering cancer  
           wife and 2 young children    
                  funeral  is this Saturday 


her adult daughter had quietly received news. 
he had left them years ago, when she was 


  doe-eyed lass
          blissfully naïve,
                 and pregnant. 
  
forgiveness came like a river.



Posted for :  D'verse Poets Pub:   Ars Poetica :  Poems about Poetry
and Flash Fiction Friday :  Tell a story in 55 words.  Welcome back G-Man ~ Based on a conversation with my co-worker this morning.


picture credit:   here
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50 comments:

  1. flipside records12 July 2012 at 19:59

    This gave me chills:

    "but i knew you like the roots
    suddenly growing on my feet"

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  2. G-Man12 July 2012 at 20:19

    Grace....
    You are such a class act!
    The first offering was very touching.
    The second, beautifully morose.
    Inspiration comes at strange times yes?
    Loved your 55...
    Thanks for playing, and have a Kick Ass Week-End

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    Replies
    1. Scarlet13 July 2012 at 08:41

      Great to see you again G-man ~

      Have a kick ass week end too ~

      Delete
  3. Anonymous12 July 2012 at 20:19

    'untie my bow and cut my fears
    let me drift towards your voice,'

    A beautiful invocation to the muse.

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  4. Brian Miller12 July 2012 at 20:22

    dang your 55 is tight...and full of emotion...i hate cancer...ugh....love the forgiveness in the end though...

    really like your first piece too....def the dance with the muse...not knowing what to call her, yeah i like that...and then her cutting those fears as you get to know her a bit...i like..

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  5. PattiKen12 July 2012 at 20:27

    Grace, these offer such a contrast. They both gave me the chills.

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  6. ayala12 July 2012 at 20:32

    Grace, two good poems one so different than the other.
    Love the first one.

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  7. Sherry Blue Sky12 July 2012 at 20:32

    Beautiful and poignant. I especially love "forgiveness came like a river." I'm so glad it did.

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  8. Sherry Blue Sky12 July 2012 at 20:34

    Your first poem is simply glorious - rich with images appealing to all the senses....I especially love your closing lines.

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  9. Margaret12 July 2012 at 20:37

    Emotional extremes, indeed. Lovely, both.

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  10. lime12 July 2012 at 20:52

    such longing in the first, such sadness in the second. both well captured.

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  11. Anonymous12 July 2012 at 20:58

    Love how you describe your muse coming into your life and the recognition and transformation that transpired. Your 55 word is heart wrenching and tender in the forgiveness that "came like a river."

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  12. Daydreamertoo12 July 2012 at 20:58

    'you have searched for me for the longest time
    tell me now I'm yours.' Beautiful
    Cancer is such a dreadful disease. Sad for the family and friends. At least there was forgiveness.

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  13. dolorah12 July 2012 at 21:12

    Very nice; loved how both had the river theme them. That second one was so tragic.

    .......dhole

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  14. Laurie Kolp12 July 2012 at 21:19

    I love the sweet seduction of the first one... and the second- forgiveness came like a river- WOW!

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  15. Dana Dampier12 July 2012 at 21:30

    I love how you describe "but i knew you like the roots
    suddenly growing on my feet"
    It's got such a beautiful feel to it!
    Both of the poems are wonderful!

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  16. Marbles in My Pocket12 July 2012 at 22:30

    Some great writing here. Love them both.

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  17. Unknown12 July 2012 at 22:31

    You capture so beautifully, with stunning images the possibility of all things that poetry allows us to see and experience. That magical crucible has come to life in your poem, where the fantasial humors swirl to life and ennoble your reader's awareness of true creative power.

    The photo is simply stunning. Is it yours?

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    Replies
    1. Scarlet13 July 2012 at 06:39

      Thanks for the lovely words Charles. No, the photo is not mine.

      Delete
  18. Teresa12 July 2012 at 22:35

    These are both wonderful poems. I especially like the second with its forgiveness.

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  19. Janna12 July 2012 at 22:47

    There's lots of good stuff here!
    I think my favorite bit is "a cold crystal grape in winter."

    Thanks for doing Friday 55!
    Mine's here. :)

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  20. Anonymous12 July 2012 at 23:33

    Well, I thought the first poem was unsurpassed until I read the second. This was incredibly moving to me. k.

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  21. Susan12 July 2012 at 23:46

    Once you respond to the erotic kinship of the muse, how can you not melt us all with eulogy?

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  22. Claudia13 July 2012 at 00:29

    isn't it awesome when poetry finally finds us and we knew that was what we were looking for all our lives..? esp. love the image with the roots growing... earthy..

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  23. Cad13 July 2012 at 02:59

    A blistering 55...

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  24. Daydreamertoo13 July 2012 at 06:46

    Fred always said that of all the women he danced with Rita was his most favourite partner. She was so skilled.:)

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  25. Yvonne Osborne13 July 2012 at 07:02

    Beautiful photo. Bittersweet poem. I especially loved the section of 55. "He had left them years ago." So sadly true for so many. Thanks.

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  26. izzy13 July 2012 at 07:32

    Forgiveness came like a river- thick and heavy? strong and fast--Light and quick...I need to chew on that one; thanks!

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  27. mamtc13 July 2012 at 09:05

    Lovely poem and it is pretty deep. You are awesome Heaven.

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  28. ashok13 July 2012 at 09:10

    awesome G

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  29. Dave King13 July 2012 at 09:35

    Very seductive, the first. The second, wow!

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  30. Anonymous13 July 2012 at 10:02

    I like how poetry found you, but the second one for 55 moved me! Like a river, I know that rush of forgiveness when perspective has been dealt.

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  31. Myrna R.13 July 2012 at 10:18

    I love them both. Poetry found me and I'm still falling in love.

    Your second poem, paints such a vivid picture of a piece of life. Very sensitive, beautiful.

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  32. Chris Lawrence13 July 2012 at 10:29

    Grace a pleasure again to come to your page wonderful to read thank you

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  33. hedgewitch13 July 2012 at 11:06

    Both pieces are beautiful, Heaven--the first is very evocative for me of the past and moments of faith and tenderness, and the second, for me, shows the transcendence of love. Lovely stuff.

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  34. Frank Watson13 July 2012 at 11:12

    The first poem had an ethereal quality to it, like how poetry just comes up seemingly out of nowhere. The second was powerful and touching, well expressed in a short space.

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  35. Pat Hatt13 July 2012 at 11:13

    Wow two great entries and I'm surely with the rest, hate that damn disease too. Nice capture with tons of emotion too.

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  36. Bubba13 July 2012 at 12:14

    Very personal pieces both, and both nicely done.

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  37. Linc13 July 2012 at 12:40

    Hard to pin down exactly why, but that 55 gave me certain... pleasant stirrings. Then the poem followed. What a rollercoaster ride!

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  38. Maude Lynn13 July 2012 at 12:50

    "stirring my blood, river deep"

    That's beautiful.

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  39. adan13 July 2012 at 17:03

    nicely done, a true creative-writing poem, the muse was definitely searching through the volumes of sensuousness and wonderings!

    "tell me now" -

    can't imagine, after such a journey, the answer wasn't anything but good!

    and much thoughts and prayers on the second piece, quite touching, best wishes heaven ;-)

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  40. Anonymous13 July 2012 at 17:42

    'Untie my bow and cut my fears' wow....amazing ; )

    Your writing is so strong and tight, Heaven....beautiful.
    -Eva

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  41. Anonymous14 July 2012 at 04:09

    You slice through so many emotions in 55, I felt tears prick...the first so immediate in the passion. Such beautiful writing.

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  42. lucychili14 July 2012 at 06:18

    beautiful feeling in the first poem

    black and achy in the second

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  43. DEZMOND14 July 2012 at 08:14

    a cold crystal grape, love that one. I love winter images in poems, and love to use them myself.

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  44. Archna Sharma14 July 2012 at 10:22

    I love the thought of blood stirring in this and you inviting it in. Your writing is always so sensuous, even on writing.

    Your 55 is such a sad tale, unfortunately it is real. Thank you for sharing, I feel more humble in this moment.

    ps~Sorry for the late visit. :)

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  45. 1ManView14 July 2012 at 12:50

    Two poems, two different shades of emotion, both written beautifully...

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  46. Anonymous15 July 2012 at 09:39

    these are profoundly beautiful.

    i love how creatively descriptive your words are. forever impressed!!

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  47. Far Beyond The Ridge15 July 2012 at 18:45

    Both were such a pleasure to journey through. Loved the river metaphor in both. And the last line made me smile quietly
    Rick

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  48. Beachanny16 July 2012 at 16:26

    When you fall into the loving river of poetry, you never want to swim out but go on and on and on ....Lovely. Thank you.

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Thanks for your visit and comments ~ I appreciate them ~

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