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Open Poetry #49
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JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana

0 posted 2015-06-20 08:06 AM


sometimes I sit quietly
and move my hand to my face
the jawbone is jutting
I think my father gave me that
softly I touch my blue as the sky eyes
somehow I know my mother
transferred them to me
I think a lot about my mother
not so much as my father
I have at least uncovered her name
Mary Turnage
There are times I feel her inside my heart
wanting, now, to be close
to what she gave away
seventy-six years ago
when I think of my nameless father
I attribute to him
my restlessness behind those
two lost decades
he probably gave to me that wanderlust
my mother comes to me
into my very nucleus sometimes
trying, maybe, to express her sorrow
about giving me to that woman
I wonder which parent did I come by my
poetical bent
oh, I do not blame her
(maybe a little)
for giving me away
a woman alone
pregnant back in those days
would have been ostracized
from family and friends alike I feel
she thought she had no choice
I wasn’t worth fighting for
maybe I got that trait from you, mother
I have three children
I deserted two of them
and though I searched for them
it was they who found me
yes, unlike you and I
they found me, like I found you
but you were long dead


©June 19, 2015 / Jerry Pat Bolton


~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

© Copyright 2015 Jerry Pat Bolton - All Rights Reserved
JamesMichael
Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA
1 posted 2015-06-20 10:12 PM


sorry to read you did not have a good relationship with your mother and father...james
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
2 posted 2015-06-21 07:51 AM


Thank you, James . . . No, it wasn't good . . .

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

Lori Grosser Rhoden
Member Patricius
since 2009-10-10
Posts 10202
Fair to middlin' of nowhere
3 posted 2015-06-22 09:11 AM


By the time we are two, we have pretty well decided how we are going to interpret our world until we become adult enough to see things differently. We spend about a quarter of our lives with our parents but their influence can (for good or ill)be with us for a lifetime. You are not alone in all your emotions you have about being adopted into a bad situation. Peace be with you as you continue to grow in understanding and acceptance.  ~L

JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
4 posted 2015-06-22 09:24 AM


I always love your comments, Lori, they are usually deep and understanding. Notice I said "usually deep and understanding." This comment is one of true worth, for it is deep and understanding.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

jwesley
Member Rara Avis
since 2000-04-30
Posts 7563
Spring, Texas
5 posted 2015-06-22 11:01 AM


To some parents children are a blessing - to others, well, lets just say they shouldn't be parents ... but whose to make that decision, unless it's really obvious?

And not all good parents, have kids turn out good.

But either way, it affects the psyche of the child, one way or another, and sometimes isn't realized by the child until well into adulthood, when the mind tends to turn back the pages of time and sees the reality never seen as a child.

Good piece, my friend . . . thoughtful.

j.



JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
6 posted 2015-06-22 11:06 AM


Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy (said in my best Bogart style), of course you are correct about our parents. Look, I have forgiven all who needed forgiving, as I have forgiven myself, and that includes my mother. I forgave her, but I will never, ever forget. Thank you for your input on this poem of mine.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

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