The Silence Afterwards
my body wrapped in
flesh with empty veins on the table is food
the wind howls at my
window circles my house through the night
your ghost comes to
me in a dream in the form of a little lamb
i reach to stroke
your soft coat it has turned to granite just as my heart
has turned hard and
cold a stone in snow i search the names listed
the weight of your
loss is far greater than i could have imagined
in the final days
the words i told myself were true but empty now
...in the
silence afterwards
February 28,
2015
26 comments:
I can feel the loss and emptiness in this....the soft wool of the sheep turning to granite......so sorrowful. The heart does form a protective layer, when it has been dealt such a blow. The element of the wind howling at the window....and the silence afterwards....I can feel it.
"my body wrapped in flesh"
My goodness. What a way to open a poem! And then the image of your body wrapped in someone else's flesh, splayed across the table. This is either getting scary or spicy.
Having read a lot about veganism lately, this also makes me think of a person taking to heart what's being done to animals so that she can eat meat.
A very thought provoking one! The fine prints simply cut through the heart.
so hard to face that after...
i am glad that you are still visited by him
the form of a lamb...what symbolism...
i know your days are hard annell...
Soft coat turned to granite, a heart that's a stone in a snow... this is really sad, heavy, moving...
The lamb's soft pelt turned to granite.. what a strong and sad image... and those cold winds... really loss can be so hard to live with.
Grief fills poetry with such strong imagery. It's the way out, letting the words be your path to finding peace.
Your images and voice are so powerful in this poem I think I will feel its affects for quite some time. Cheers!
Somehow with such a deep loss you have to ensure that you have taken your loved one inside you so they will always be with you. In this way they will be in your presence as I am sure your are in theirs. Listen you might hear their laugh or a whisper in your ear...you heard it once; they are with you always.
So very sorry--this feels so personal and so real--
I definitely believe in otherworldly presence... I feel the deep loss in this write...
a ghost that's a little lamb, just that is sad. the rest is gut wrenching.
in state, faithful lying
Silence is even louder and more uncomfortable when we know the voice we are missing...i think that little lamb can still be soft...xo
The image of the lamb's coat turning to granite is startling, to say the least.
Whirling for Good or Ill
Everything about food and warmth has changed in the face of loss in this poem. I can feel it, hoiw hard it is.
Oh such pain and loss I felt in these words....that silence is like a knife stabbing...
Yes, sometimes there is silence in truth.... depthful writing, Annell.
Your link at Poetry United seems not to be working. .-)
Sometimes silence after loss can render words, albeit even true words, suddenly empty to us. Sad observation but so wonderfully captured.
I salute your courage and honesty in this beautifully woven portrait of grief. We would much prefer to write of softer and gentler things, but that wouldn't be real, now would it? Hugs to you from here, my friend,
Elizabeth
You completely caught me up in it!
as i read the poem i deeply feel that your words describe me suffering the same loss...ah i could feel that heart, cold, hard and that deafening silence...
heart stopping feeling of loss ... a strong image.
Sometimes the silence is the hardest thing to bear, makes the sense of loss greater.
My thoughts are with you.
Anna
This was so moving for me.
Yet another moving, evocative piece that draws one right in.
Post a Comment