Garden of Regret
wikimedia commons
Illustrierter Katalog der Münchener Jahresausstellung von Kunstwerken Aller Nationen im königl. Glaspalaste 1890, Ausgabe vom Anfang September, München 1890 (Digitalisat der BSB)
the
garden fence
surrounds
her heart
each
post pointed
a
monument
each
a mistake in loving
a
regret
each
with a face painted on it
she
walks from post to post
touching
the face of each error
feeling
its bruise
its
color unfold
beneath
worn fingers
pinched
with time
her
face mirrors
each
post
as
she feels them
squeeze
her heart a bit more
the
perimeter closing fast
paint
brush in hand
she
paints each
a
shade of gray
more
to her liking
copyright/all rights reserved Audrey Howitt 2013
Today, Kim has asked us to think about fences. This is what I came up with. Come join us at Poets United
Oh, this is painful, Audrey....but a very good write. Each fence post a regret with a face painted on it. I hope when these posts are grey they are less hurtful. I feel this one...in my chest....deeply!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary--this is one of those pieces I think that hurts--
DeleteI love the gradual way in which you build this, until the reader is brought to exactly the same point as the subject of the poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rosemary--I took a look at your blogs--they are wonderful!
DeleteSometimes regrets can become a heavy burden. I wonder, when she turns her back to re-enter her everyday living, if she leaves them there on those fence posts? I would hope so,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
I wonder too--thank you!
DeleteArt therapy is good for the soul.
ReplyDeleteI so agree Libby--thank you!
DeleteWow what a great analogy with the fence posts. Well done!
ReplyDeleteHi Christy! Thank you!!
Deleteyep gotta paint them gray. hmm any room left to expand her heart or is it all fenced in?
ReplyDeleteI'm figuring she makes more room when she paints them gray
DeleteThis is very clever -- no, scrub that: it's brilliant. I love it very much. Ingenuity allied to feeling -- a rare combination!
ReplyDeleteThank you Dave!
DeleteLoved the imagery of the fence. Very sadly true. I enjoyed this poem a lot.
ReplyDeleteThank you ND. I enjoyed yours as well!
Deletedang...felt verse ma'am....each point a mistake she revisits and then paints grey....oy....felt poem....
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful. I have a bunch of faces--do not ask how many--and though I don't feel them as pinching, I love the idea that, if they did, I could paint them grey or dull or even with moustaches and funny faces! What a lovely narrative, perfectly logical and surreal at once. (I'll be it is worse for those who have a bunch that "got away"--that weren't allowed to be mistakes!)
ReplyDeleteHi Susan--thank you so much for reading this one--funny, how life goes--
DeleteThe pacing in this is perfect...this may be the best of your work that I have read. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you Bill! That means a lot to me-
DeleteHeartbreaking piece...Adopting a quiet, reflective attitude is common during the final weeks of life....the looming presence of many faces enforce melancholy.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant...
Thank you for reading this one Panchali--I love your work!
DeleteI really liked "she walks from post to post touching the face of each error" - that is such a great phrase. I love everything about this poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reading this one--I really liked writing it
DeleteThis is a wonderful poem, I love the way you build up to her painting "each a shade of gray more to her liking."
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa!
DeleteThis fascinated me... each post an error. As she touched them, she seemed to relive them, embrace them closer. I wanter to run over with sandpaper and hone each picket, telling her to let them be. The gray will look lovely when the rough edges have been released.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful way to look at it Kim--and you are spot on--this is how I was thinking about the piece
DeleteBeautiful indeed, Audrey!
ReplyDeleteActually emotions come alive in objects, and when mind is not at peace...they tend to speak volumes.
Beautiful poem - What a sad fence for someone to have around their heart.
ReplyDeleteA great write!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really original response to the prompt. I felt for the woman and was very relieved when she painted the pickets all gray. Much more soothing!
ReplyDeleteI really like this a lot, your imagery is vivid, I can see the fence tightening and the ending was a surprise.
ReplyDeleteBut the paint peels...I know. Such a beautiful and touching poem. It only goes to show that some men should not be allowed near a fence. After all aren't fences meant to keep trespassers out and aren't people who break hearts trespassing?
ReplyDelete