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Cpat Hair
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since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793


0 posted 2010-10-08 07:52 AM


Even grief wears thin
And the rage I once felt when you left
Has found home within the four white walls as shadow
Next to the mirror I covered with black organza
So I did not see myself as I walked by
And know the reflection was as hollow
As the heart or tears I have cried

Now, this grief does not stop the wind
And I shiver as in cold rain there were a fever
That my marrow would hold but even the passing of time
Has stopped in the hall and I do no feel
Quite right wearing black overcoat
To sip tea

Soon,
I will shed the black armband
For it never stopped my pulse from reminding me
How it is to count heartbeats unanswered
Or stop the flow of clinched fists
That poured from end of sleeves
beneath the table as people spoke
And I only wanted
To go home

But for now
I will in convention place flowers upon stone
Replacing the ones I left before
For they have faded as have I with the new moons rise
Being but a crescent of light to find its way
Through curtain lace where it fails to warm
The sheets of my bed
          And leaves light enough that I can see
Even grief wears thin

I worry now that when it is gone
       I will not know what to wear
Or how
      To begin

© Copyright 2010 Cpat Hair - All Rights Reserved
Eusta B. Mae
Senior Member
since 2010-05-03
Posts 903

1 posted 2010-10-08 08:07 AM


Cpat, how heart wrenching!  Your scribble screamed with grief! Eusta
Cpat Hair
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2 posted 2010-10-08 08:10 AM


EBM... then it captured something of what I wished ma'am...  
I was reflecting this morning on the parts of my family, no longer here...and on the grief that comes with such loss, and realized it was not the grieving itself that was so hard, but the what to do...when it wore thin and you have to decide what part of life to wear...

a whim.... and a passing nod to WH Auden...

Eusta B. Mae
Senior Member
since 2010-05-03
Posts 903

3 posted 2010-10-08 08:23 AM


I understand completely.  Sometimes some people leave themselves nothing to wear but grief, however thin.  They hold on to it like a security blanket.  There is that point as you say, and some people cannot face it.
Cpat Hair
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4 posted 2010-10-08 08:34 AM


EBM... true enough, some people do get caught in grief and can no longer cast it aside... the question that nagged at me however, was that in the act of transitioning, is the emptiness and the loss all the more real and are we even aware of it?
What part of the legacy they left for us, as a part of us, do we clothe ourselves in and how doees it change the "who we are" in ways it didn't when they were here.....

We live up to "expectations" or down to them..depending on what was given us by those who are/were family... or are we simply nudged by gravity and take on a slightly different orbit around our self center?  
(chuckling).....  my apologies... I woke this morning somewhat introspective and very aware of my own orbit...

this is after all a very self indulgent piece... and one I probably should have thought about longer before it was shared.

Eusta B. Mae
Senior Member
since 2010-05-03
Posts 903

5 posted 2010-10-08 08:44 AM


I'm glad you didn't think too much before posting....otherwise this wonderful piece of work may not have graced us this morning. However self indulgent you may feel it is, it addresses a universal question in a way that lets the reader think and feel deeper and more clearly into "the process".  In doing for you you have done for others. Thank you.
bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631

6 posted 2010-10-08 09:10 AM


~~being no stranger to this garment...it's about how deep the bee stings inside the heart...and how deep & far the heart can run into its oblivion~~~

the title...startled me...the fever pitch mesmerized me....the voice, as ever resounded in me...to the very core~**~

             

Cpat Hair
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since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793

7 posted 2010-10-08 10:07 AM


Belle... sorry if the title startled you, it is a bit obscure I guess...
still my mind drew the connection between how Juliets family or friends might have grieved once she was gone, and how it was not the "grand" pyre, but a much more private sort of grief...

as for how deep the bee stings..( chuckling) I am reminded of line from an old Bogart movie...and one of the characters who is a rummy asks throughout the movie, "Have you ever been stung by a dead bee?" Because..yes even dead bees sting...and the depth of the sting is perhaps a reflection of the depths of the heart...

glad the piece resonated somewhere within... and as I said, it is a self indulgent piece on my part as I explored my thoughts this morning... so you have my apologies if it upset in any way..

bel1e
Senior Member
since 2006-07-24
Posts 1631

8 posted 2010-10-08 11:20 AM


not at all, Chief~

nothing wrong with a shake-me-down every now and then~~~~

             

Cpat Hair
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Member Patricius
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793

9 posted 2010-10-08 11:24 AM


"nothing wrong with a shake-me-down every now and then~~~~"
I thought shake downs were illegal and most often associated with some sort of organized crime?  (chuckling)

I did not intend to shake you you... truly~


Dark Stranger
Member Patricius
since 2001-03-19
Posts 13631
West Coast
10 posted 2010-10-08 12:06 PM


cpat..I had the armband tattoo'd on...lest if ever be removed without taking the arm with it..kewl stuff guy
Cpat Hair
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since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793

11 posted 2010-10-08 12:13 PM


Not a bad idea at all DS... we all have plenty of lost friends or brothers to mourn.. it seems there is always a new one.

thanks for your eyes on my scribble sir, always appreciated

Paula Finn
Member Ascendant
since 2000-06-17
Posts 5546
missouri
12 posted 2010-10-08 08:42 PM


As a geriatric nurse, I see grief on an almost day to day basis. I see it in families faces even before the actual death, when something worse than death steals away thier loved one. With what do you replace the mantle of grief? How about the one you wear now? The cloak of a loving poet? Who helps someone else shed that grief even if only for the time it takes to read sonmething you have written. Today you brought me outside myself...even if only for a moment...thank you
Cpat Hair
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Member Patricius
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793

13 posted 2010-10-09 08:01 AM


Paula,
  thank  you for the kind words and if the piece helped your day, I am honored...


The Lady
Member Rara Avis
since 2005-12-26
Posts 7634
The Southwest
14 posted 2010-10-14 01:10 AM




a truly gripping piece
hard upon the heart

Cpat Hair
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-06-05
Posts 11793

15 posted 2010-10-14 07:00 AM


Thank you ma'am...
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