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Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

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HLemma
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Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by HLemma » Wed Apr 10, 2019 10:13 am

Empty, today of all days
when it is convenient to remember.
 
Letters eroded, discolored,
evidence of everyone, of no one,
 
stories unlike those at hospitals and airports,
where departures are balanced with arrivals.
 
Here,
there is only loss.
 
We sleuth around markers
in search of a familiar name,
 
past the girl of 17
who would be 81 now;
 
she was small
when the war ended
 
after claiming her neighbor,
a man of 26.
 
Nearby, 2 and 3 year old siblings
lost in an accident,
 
widows, widowers, childless parents
who survived decades in a broken world.
 
Your hand brushes mine,
and lingers a moment
 
as we navigate between stones,
our steps sinking into the fickle earth.



 

DocCon
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Re: Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by DocCon » Wed Apr 10, 2019 11:25 am

Beautiful! I spend a good deal of time in cemetaries, and that captures it well. The nod toward 'the living' as the fingers brush was exquisite. Really enjoyed!

Con/jur/d

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Tracy Mitchell
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Re: Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:49 pm

I love this. So much is told with the little information on the stones. They were important as family records for so long in our history. But as often, these cryptic snippets raise questions and set minds to speculating. Yes, a quiet walk through a cemetery. As I work through this one several times, the strength of the closing lines become increasingly apparent. Bravo. :)

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Gyppo
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Re: Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by Gyppo » Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:02 pm

Yes, those cryptic footnotes to history.  As child I recall a well-worn little back stone set into the floor of a cathedral, sadly I no longer recall which, with just the single name 'Joey'.  No dates or any other clue.  I speculated for hours about that.  Who would be important enough to have a stone in a cathedral, but not even a date of death?

Gyppo
I've been writing ever since I realised I could.  Storytelling since I started talking.  Poetry however comes and goes  ;-)

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HLemma
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Re: Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by HLemma » Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:39 pm

Thanks Gyppo, Tracy, and DocCon for your replies. I'm so glad you liked this one. I have dealt with death and fear this year, and now that spring has arrived I'm hoping for better things.

lisaeagle65
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Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2019 11:00 pm

Re: Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by lisaeagle65 » Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:58 pm

HLemma wrote:
Wed Apr 10, 2019 10:13 am
Empty, today of all days
when it is convenient to remember.
Letters eroded, discolored,
evidence of everyone, of no one,
stories unlike those at hospitals and airports,
where departures are balanced with arrivals.
Here,
there is only loss.
We sleuth around markers
in search of a familiar name,
past the girl of 17
who would be 81 now;
she was small
when the war ended
after claiming her neighbor,
a man of 26.
Nearby, 2 and 3 year old siblings
lost in an accident,
widows, widowers, childless parents
who survived decades in a broken world.
Your hand brushes mine,
and lingers a moment
as we navigate between stones,
our steps sinking into the fickle earth.

WOW!!! This is a gut puncher.. Great stuff

ajduclos
Posts: 1746
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2019 1:35 pm

Re: Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by ajduclos » Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:14 am

So well said - so well written... such warmth and tenderness and longing... hard to capture a life in a few carved words.

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HLemma
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Re: Day 10: On A Sunday At St. Mary's

Post by HLemma » Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:42 pm

Thanks for the good reviews and kind words.

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