The smell of lavender seeps out in the rain
Delicate like sugar
Dusted on fairy cakes
I am hungry again
Like nothing will suffice
The old woman takes bags from the back of the car
Food for the children
Not mine
I am upstairs watching
Eliminating veins
Quietly
Studiously
As meaningful as love
I think of the word
Misadventure
Chew it over
With the lavender seeds
It implies adventure
The peak of a mountain
A smile
A photo
A pat on the back
A place very far from these cardboard walls
This half way home
Not quite here
Not quite settled
A place to sleep
Not dream
I look at the hole in the ceiling
Talk to it like a face
Look I’m dying
I know
It might take a while though
Pack a bag
Settle in
Have a cup of tea
A broken biscuit
You might go before me
Waiting for the end of this adventure
My misadventure
I admire how you keep going on spindle legs
Nothing more than an ounce of seed and a smile
The little girl passes pennies over the counter
Her hair is wet
And greasy
Not loved like a little girl should be
Like anyone should be
It is hard to digest
The cloud is whipped like frosting
Spiders climb deep into the window frame
Hiding
I find it hard to walk now
Catching lavender in the rain.
Your poem of longing with imagery that speaks of the past and ponders the future. The descriptions, the similes the metaphors all invade our senses and a feeling of sadness overwhelms the beauty of the words but makes them even more effective. Brilliant work Jae.
ReplyDeleteThank you Old Egg..may have to reach for the grammar book to remind myself just what a metaphor and simile are..much appreciated..glad there was a little beauty in the sadness..
ReplyDeleteTruely one of your most beautiful pieces!! I love it.
ReplyDeleteYou worry me a little with this one, probably because it brings up times when I've been hungry, waiting for my own misadventure to end and puzzled to find myself still here.
ReplyDeleteI love how you evoke powerful emotions with such simple, everyday things like broken biscuits.
Thank you sweetly Annell.. X
ReplyDeleteThe path of misadventure is perhaps familiar to those who have laid foot there..and many special people have..it is puzzling to still be walking..almost sleep walking at times..maybe the everyday things are like crumbs that lead out of the forest..thank you kindly Ann..
Ah, that hunger...we all have it for something. We have all had misadventures, I think. Sometimes they were even enjoyable for a time before we realized what they were.... I like how you carry 'lavender' throughout your poem. Love the smell of lavender. Powerful writing again, Jae.
ReplyDeleteI loved the delicate sadness of this poem, Jae, a contrast to some of your heavier fare. I sense the being resolved to misadventure and to the ultimate release when it should finally comee. Beautifully written. You have a gift for this!
ReplyDeleteYour poems refresh my mind and heart :-)
ReplyDeleteCould almost smell the lavender in the rain: it is a haunting odor. Perhaps, in a way it symbolizes her misadventure- the pounding destroyer of the rain, mixed with the rejuvenating scent of lavender.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Mary..Lavender is beautiful..and true that an adventure only really becomes a misadventure when looking back..
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Josie..glad it was a bit lighter.. ;)
Thank you Ben :-)
Beautifully put Abigail..thank you..
as always, your poem travels around and presents so many twists and ideas...your poetry makes me think....
ReplyDeleteI'd like to catch lavender in the rain! Lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joanne..
ReplyDeleteDo join in! Thank you Belva..
I love the scent of lavender in the rain. A heartbreaking poem making me wonder again about your life.
ReplyDelete