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

Comments

  1. 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!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Mary--this is one of those pieces I think that hurts--

      Delete
  2. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Rosemary--I took a look at your blogs--they are wonderful!

      Delete
  3. Sometimes 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,

    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  4. Art therapy is good for the soul.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow what a great analogy with the fence posts. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  6. yep gotta paint them gray. hmm any room left to expand her heart or is it all fenced in?

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is very clever -- no, scrub that: it's brilliant. I love it very much. Ingenuity allied to feeling -- a rare combination!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Loved the imagery of the fence. Very sadly true. I enjoyed this poem a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  9. dang...felt verse ma'am....each point a mistake she revisits and then paints grey....oy....felt poem....

    ReplyDelete
  10. How 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!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Susan--thank you so much for reading this one--funny, how life goes--

      Delete
  11. The pacing in this is perfect...this may be the best of your work that I have read. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Heartbreaking piece...Adopting a quiet, reflective attitude is common during the final weeks of life....the looming presence of many faces enforce melancholy.
    Brilliant...

    ReplyDelete
  13. I 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for reading this one--I really liked writing it

      Delete
  14. This is a wonderful poem, I love the way you build up to her painting "each a shade of gray more to her liking."

    ReplyDelete
  15. This 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is a wonderful way to look at it Kim--and you are spot on--this is how I was thinking about the piece

      Delete
  16. Beautiful indeed, Audrey!

    Actually emotions come alive in objects, and when mind is not at peace...they tend to speak volumes.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful poem - What a sad fence for someone to have around their heart.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This 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!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I really like this a lot, your imagery is vivid, I can see the fence tightening and the ending was a surprise.

    ReplyDelete
  20. But 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

Post a Comment

I appreciate your comments and thoughts--thank you for stopping by! I don't always reply here, but always try to reciprocate--so hang in there, I will be over to your blog in a jiffy!

Popular Posts