Reflected Light


Morgue File
Teacake



I
I wanted to write
thru every feeling
     but in the end,
I only felt empty

II
When tears come
I let them fall
flow down my cheeks
until they find my breasts

and I remember
when they leaked too

III

Your clothes are mountains
curving down to meet my eyes
I watch you, so ready to leave
naked, palming my cheeks
until I lose my sight
and only remember your smell


copyright/all rights reserved Audrey Howitt 2019
posted for Poets United Pantry

Comments

  1. "I watch you, so ready to leave..." This makes me think of a child leaving home, which always comes too soon for a parent. Later, when they look back, the usually wish they had not been in such a hurry.

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  2. There is something extra melancholy about those tears, traveling so far, coating the heart in liquid hurt...

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  3. The third stanza made me laugh. The last one was fulfilling.

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  4. II - speaks of a mother and child relationship. The breasts that once fed to the tears of loss.

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  5. Your poem touched me to the core, Audrey, especially the second stanza and end of the third stanza.

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  6. Your poetry should be required reading in Lit classes across the country.

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  7. I wanted to be one of those moms that documented everything , but well, life happened and I gave that up completely. Still I remember my children's babyhoods and childhoods so well. My eldest brought his mountain of clothes back from college. LOL, they all need washing, but I'm still getting caught up making memories playing video games with him and having lively political discussions. And just enjoying the summer until he goes back in the fall.

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  8. This is incredibly poignant and intense! I could feel every word.

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  9. I love the sparseness in this poem... the way we cannot write about the pain, and in the end there is that lingering scent...

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  10. Your second stanza got me as I remembered my leaky breasts. That time was one of such tight bonding and then the other phases of their growing...and leaving, can leave us heartbroken. The brevity brought it home even more.
    Gayle ~

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  11. Dear Audrey,
    Lovely to be here again after a long absence!
    Your poem captures something of the wrench when a child grows up, becomes more independent and then leaves home...an amazing review of that relationship..

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  12. Hi Audrey. I admire your writing so much. You say so much in few words and that is a special gift. I felt this one. Also, I haven't been by in a while so your header was new to me-stunning! - Jen

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