A happening may get inside your soul
and stick,
boxed like film negatives,
rather surreal--
an outside thing you grow over
and kind of forget
until you notice it again.
Big brown leaves against a bright blue sky,
the ffft, ffft of formula through a feeding tube,
a wing of dawn, a chicory blossom:
these are mine.
What are yours?
White snow on bare black trees underneath a glorious gray sky.
ReplyDeleteThe small green flying insect fluttering in the sun that comes through the window of the #15 bus.
Fr B singing the Salve Regina in Latin because it is May, and saying "vair-go" instead of "veer-go."
The lachrymose quality shared by the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" and Scarlatti's "Mesto, stanco, e spirante."
The smell of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoke on a slightly chilly October or November day.
Oh, yes! Thank you, Thomas, for sharing these!
ReplyDeleteTom, isn't Elena's poetry always wonderful?! Love your list, too.
ReplyDeleteLoud ticking clocks (bringing back the black-with-gold-trim grandfather clock in our hallway in the first home I remember, which I stopped at night so that I could get to sleep in the otherwise silent house, and which my mother swears we never owned) . . .
The so-much-darker darkness when alone in a house at night . . .
Toy fox terriers, pinatas, and any slightest mention of VietNam . . .
Fire crackling behind a brass grate, the smell of pine, and the glitter of tinsel in a carpet . . .
Dr. Impson, thanks for your commendation! I'm so glad you enjoy the poems. And thank you for sharing your imagery! I feel like I've been given the gift of a glimpse into your experience.
ReplyDeleteHearing back from you and Thomas has been wonderful--I think I'll have to ask more people the "imagery question."