The Wait
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Wikimedia Commons
This piece was written between a diagnosis and a death. For my friend.
hovering
in abeyance
circling
in patterns
waiting
upon changes
without control
prayers
plunder
all asking
for an easing
for comfort
for more life
for death
sometimes for both
a white curtain
flutters
gauze-like
and as the wind whips by
it presses cloth
into eyes
into navel
into the crevice between legs
the gauze
a shroud
on a summer’s day
copyright/all rights reserved Audrey Howitt 2012
Very sad. The last stanza is very poignant, leaving nothing at all in its vivid imagery to be wondered at the outcome. For the depth of sadness involved it the loss, it is still a beautiful write for your friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bren!
Deletefilled with deep melancholy and sadness..yet so magnificent..a sparkling verse indeed..thank you for sharing~~
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading--it was a difficult time
DeleteJust wrote a poem of this title, Audrey--and though it has a different sort of subject matter, it is also about the contradictory and helpless sorts of feelings and responses to pain, loss, life and death that come,...this moment, this place of suspended being you capture here is finely drawn and also has great impact, line by line, as we float through that void between states, powerless, just...waiting. My condolences on your loss.
ReplyDeleteI could really FEEL this poem. I understand well asking for life, for death, for both. The ending...the gauze a shroud...took my breath away.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary--I so appreciate the read and comments
Deletewow intense and vivid....def felt everyone of your words...and in some way lived it vicariously through others but taken there once more by you....
ReplyDeleteThank you Brian!
Deletereally brought tears to my eyes...so sorry for the loss of your friend...so hard to see someone you love suffer so much..the waiting, hoping and not knowing what to pray.. the closure made me hold my breath..
ReplyDeleteThank you Claudia! Both for the kindness in your words as well as for reading the piece--
DeleteWhew...a felt piece. You captured the "hovering" so well, and the last half was so moving. A great write.
ReplyDeleteThank you Poet Laundry!
DeleteSad when they go and they suffer so much, can relate to the just wanting death to come already as it would be less painful.
ReplyDeleteAs it is with so many--thank you Pat! Greatly appreciated!
DeleteVery intense poem - how things change so quickly - so sad. I have had three very close friends die of cancer - all my age - it is not something that one gets over easily; and of course, one's own loss feels small thinking about the life they are not getting to live. It's just terribly sad. Beautiful poem. k.
ReplyDeleteThis all happened relatively quickly--sometimes I think people reach a point of acceptance early--Thank you for reading and commenting--so very much appreciated!
DeleteIntense emotions here...I can feel the hovering, the asking for comfort, between life and death ~
ReplyDeleteThank you Grace--
DeleteSorry for your loss...sad and intense write !
ReplyDeleteThank you Ayala!
DeleteLovely words, lovely capture. Very sad and I can relate. Piece I wrote last week was for my sister-in-law who is in this limbo, this stasis state. Feeling fair these days, but knowing that the cancer grows and there is no cure. Wishing peace to you on your loss.
ReplyDeleteI remember your piece from last week--my thoughts to you and your siser-in-law---
Delete...sometimes for both.
ReplyDeleteFull of emotion this poem. Tightly written, but echoes and echoes within me. Thank you, for sharing this.
Thank you Margaret!
DeleteThe white curtain as gauze as shroud....all chilling images for me! The second stanza is tight - would stand alone as its own superior piece of poetry. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sheila!
Deletethis poem is really expressive..unfortunately i know all too well from illness...
ReplyDeleteThank you chnzibrenner--and I am sorry that you too are suffering--
DeleteThis implies the unsaid - what is life for? is death better when there is suffering? how much pain must we endure when there is loss? is death the worst of the many losses we face each day? and have we given enough joy to one another in the course of a single life? for in the end it is about how much of life brought joy, not pain. Exquisite.
ReplyDeleteThank you Beachanny! I so agree!
DeleteAmazingly visceral, emotionally engaging, and true. My heart goes out to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much chromapoesy.com
DeletePoignant and melancholy, colored with both hope and resignation. A heartfelt poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you Semaphore!
DeleteAudrey, really outstanding how your words cast such a wide net of emotion. To be able to convey such emotion is such a style is very impressive and really nicely done. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you Fred--you are most generous!
DeleteVery, very moving.. an intense experience, amplified for me by the slim formatting and the image. You record the complexity with such sad starkness.
ReplyDeleteThank you Becky--I feel most for his family--he was so loved by everyone who knew him!
DeleteReally moving words, Audrey. I'm so sorry that it stems from reality. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rachel--
DeleteQuiet, poignant and real. So often, such a piece can slip into the maudlin. You have done a marvelous job of expressing the images and feelings here, Audrey.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joe!
DeleteIntense and sad! Matters of life and death often not discussed but conveniently avoided.Very testing! Nice write Audrey!
ReplyDeleteHank
Thank you kaykuala! Not often discussed--but in the room nonetheless---Thank you so much---
DeleteSo sorry for your loss. Beautiful writing, though, really.
ReplyDeleteThank you Alex--my heart goes out to his family--
DeleteAudrey, this is poignant, yes, I have been where you are more than I have wanted to be. I am so sorry for your loss. You have penned a beautiful poem as a result of your pain.
ReplyDeletePamela
Thank you Pamela--I so appreciate your visit and comments!
DeleteHeartbreaking. Literally gave me shivers as I was reading. So sorry for your loss, Audrey.
ReplyDeleteAnd I feel for the family--thank you Stephen
DeleteVery well expressed. Sad, but beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteThank you--It's Charles--am I right?
Deletetouching and vivid expression. ~ Rose
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose!!
DeleteHello, Audrey
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and this post is so sad yet uplifting, if that person has you to write about such an experience so similar to the one I had with my late brother a few years ago.... death is a difficult thing tyo accept and welcome, yet, as we can do nothing about it we should find a way to see the possitive sideof it
Thanks for your visit to my blog
Hugs
Dulce
And to you Dulce!
DeleteYou write about death so well. Sorry for the loss.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dennis!
DeleteBeautiful, respectful and vivid. This is exquisite work. I am sure the experience is more than I could imagine. You have honored your friend wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteThank you Beth---I feel for the family
Delete