The Poem I Meant to Write
THE POEM I MEANT TO WRITE
I regret not writing you down,
you swam through my mind
linking words and thoughts
with gossamer chains
that glistened with meaning,
But the kitchen can was calling my name
using the voice of my wife.
There were skinned knees to be kissed,
equations to be sorted out,
house rules to be followed.
Has the opportunity passed?
Have you flown, like a caged bird
through a conveniently open window?
Are you even now winging toward
another poet, a different writer?
I have the scraps, the fragments,
the word-pieces I had intended
to build you from.
I will try to arrange them so,
in hopes they cast the same shadow.
Like my grandmother's smile
you linger just behind my eye,
waiting for me,
wanting to be released
in just the 'write' form.
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Shared with DVerse Poets for OLN!
©2014 Christopher Reilley
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This is so poignant! I especially resonate with; " I have the scraps, the fragments,
ReplyDeletethe word-pieces I had intended to build you from. I will try to arrange them so, in hopes they cast the same shadow." ❤️❤️
Very well written. I love the ending. We often lose the thought in the business of life.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I have many drafts on Wordpress and open notes in my iPhone with an idea or starting line of a poem. Sometimes I can revisit the feelings I had later, when I wrote the thing down.❤️
ReplyDeleteMe too! I also have a file on Word with all sorts of words, phrase, whole lines and fragments of poems.
DeleteI like the title, Chris, and the way the first person speaker addresses the poem. Another one I can relate to, having often had a poem swimming through my mind and regret at having not written it down. Some tread water, waiting for me to take action, while others just swim away again. I really like the alliterative ‘gossamer chains that glistened with meaning’ and the list of reasons why the poem escaped. It’s worth writing down and playing with the scraps, fragments and word-pieces, even if you only get a micro poem out of them. But what a beautiful simile you managed to capture in the final stanza!
ReplyDeleteThis is so poignant in the sense that I almost feel you trying to capture a dream, or to shape something from words. Almost like a Pygmalion myth
ReplyDelete