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Should You Choose to Die Today
will the Earth withhold her
splendor for a moment
until she gasps for air,
the air that would be yours?
Most trees have lost their leaves
and quail forage in
dead brush.
I haven’t heard the coyote howl.
On my walk by the River
I saw a pair of doves.
A swallow rests, alone
on a branch of our ornamental pear
and feasts.
Although I posted this poem recently, I want to share it again today with the wonderful visitors to dVerse Poets Pub. I just returned from the funeral of a young woman who took her own life and this experience brought new meaning to these words for me.
On a personal note, I am happy to be back in the world of blogging after a few week’s break. Part of this time was spent on vacation in Colorado Springs and then in Pinehurst, North Carolina where I had the opportunity to golf Pinehurst #2, a course that has hosted the US Open. My husband won this trip. Our second day, we were able to golf 11 holes at another Pinehurst course before the rain forced us off the course. We were soaked to the bone but grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. AND on course #2, hole #15, my drive landed 3 feet to the left of the pin but then I was so excited about my birdie opportunity, I choked and missed the putt. And so it goes!
Come visit the pub at: http://dversepoets.com
dragonkatet
/ September 29, 2011Glad that you are back. I’m sorry to hear of your loss, but I think the poem does the concept great justice.
johnallenrichter
/ September 29, 2011Wow, incredible emotions in light of the funeral, but before I saw your comment I was thinking how lovely even a leafless, somewhat barren fall day can be…. I wish your friend could have seen all the beauty in life that you do…… I’m happy to see your poems again!
Wings over waters
/ September 28, 2011Desperately sad and beautifully written. I felt the melancholy of loss in the poem.
beckykilsby
/ September 28, 2011Victoria, this is an arresting poem. You have presented the material ‘aslant’ – perfect for the theme. I feel I’ve read something important.
Thank you for sharing the personal circumstances. All the best.
beckykilsby
/ September 28, 2011Victoria, this is an arresting poem. You present the material ‘aslant’ – just perfect for the very sad theme. I feel I’ve read something important.
Thank you for sharing this and the personal significance. All the best.
ayala
/ September 28, 2011Sorry about your friend, so devastating. The poem is lovely.
vivinfrance
/ September 28, 2011I’m so glad you’re back with us. How did the editing go? A beautiful oxymoron of a poem. Bittersweet describes it perfectly.
claudia
/ September 28, 2011oh so sad victoria…bad enough when young people die in car accidents or however but makes me desperate when they take their own life…your verse resonate peaceful after all
David
/ September 28, 2011Victoria, a sad and beautiful poem. I especially like the concrete imagery of the second stanza, which conveys through ordinary things (and their absence) the bleak content of the earth’s gasp in the first stanza, while the the third stanza holds out hope — albeit ambivalent.
Reflections
/ September 28, 2011Sorry about the loss of your friend. It is a difficult thing to try to understand. Your poem touches the broken heart gently.
brian
/ September 28, 2011yay! welcome back victoria! glad you had a good time…ack on the putt…cant wait to hear more about your trip…
sorry on the death of the friend…for one to take their own life…yes, this does bring even greater meaning to the verse…i have had friends embrace a similar fate…sorry…
Anna Montgomery
/ September 28, 2011I can’t say anything because I’m too touched (silly but true), wonderful to have you back.
Daydreamertoo
/ September 27, 2011So sad to see someone end their own lives. She must have been so tormented. I hope she is at peace now.
A lovely, poignant write.
Heaven
/ September 27, 2011very touching.. subtle without the excess of emotions…thanks for sharing this ~
nice to see you back in the bloggerworld ~
TheMsLvh
/ July 15, 2011You captured the pain and joy of life and death elegantly. Well written.
Donna Swanson
/ July 14, 2011A quiet reflection and a bittersweet goodbye.
charlesmashburn
/ July 13, 2011Very visual. I felt I was in the leafless forest, looking up.
Shashi
/ July 13, 2011I liked the words … I enjoyed it thoroughly… You first paragraph… was really powerful…
Thanks for joining at my first Wk of hosting Poetry Potluck…
Shashi
ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/07/whispers-cuckoos-song-and-smell-of-love.html
At Twitter @VerseEveryDay
luna15
/ July 13, 2011very touching for me, because its my moms turn. i just wrote about it today. blessings and love.
Luna
liv2write2day
/ July 13, 2011I’m so sorry to hear about your Mom. I tried to find it on your blog, Luna, but couldn’t. Perhaps you haven’t posted it? You are both in my prayers.
Jeanie McBain
/ July 13, 2011Lovely well written and thoughtrul poem, sorry to hear of your pain. God bless you both
Jamie Dedes
/ July 13, 2011Heart wrenching poem and heart wrenching situation. I’m sorry about your cousin and hold you both in heart and prayer.
Thank you for sharing a fine and authentic poem, Victoria.
Blessings ….
Jamie Dedes
/ October 6, 2011Ah, I just reread this. I had thought it was for our cousin, but I think I’m wrong about that.
The peom is sad but simply beautiful.
Laurie Kolp
/ July 12, 2011Very reflective, melancholy… sorry about your friend.
Sam
/ July 12, 2011Victoria… this is stunning the feelings are so vivid in your words… a beautiful sadness.
danroberson
/ July 12, 2011Your poem is a song of words, tying beauty and life to the final journey, and then back to life and living. It is a celebration of her life as the poem whispers to each person she touched.
brian miller
/ July 12, 2011i am sorry for your loss victoria…a wonderful poem to the passing…i love the little textures to it…
Kay Salady
/ July 12, 2011An absolutely incredible poem. The tree falls, yet her seeds are scattered to carry on . . . and the world keeps turning. Yes, all is as it should be.
Bodhirose
/ July 12, 2011May the transition be an easy one for all those affected, Victoria. Beautiful, heartfelt poem with striking imagery.
ayala
/ July 11, 2011Beautiful and sad. Sorry for your loss.
Trisha
/ July 11, 2011may god bless her soul. my loving prayers are with you, your family my dear, sweet friend.
liv2write2day
/ July 11, 2011Thank you, Trisha. She has had a difficult life.
Sharmishtha
/ July 12, 2011i wish she had found her peace during her living here, on earth. thats what i pray for human beings that they dont have to wait for eternal rest, peace to feel truly blessed.
Trisha
/ July 11, 2011it had an air of deep melancholy. wonderfully written victoria.
Luke Prater
/ July 11, 2011wooo that’s a cracker. What an intriguing title too.. makes ya wanna read it. Fabulous. No biggie but left-aligning it would work better for me (and indented to the middle, rather than centre-aligning)
liv2write2day
/ July 11, 2011Thanks for the suggestion, Luke. Yeah, I’m noticing a trend away from centering poems.
Jingle
/ July 11, 2011amazing insights, for trees, they die and reborn on yearly basis, not human beings.
thanks for the unique take on life… blessings!
Julie Corbett
/ July 11, 2011best wishes
vivienne Blake
/ July 11, 2011A lovely poem, and a fitting tribute for your cousin.
tigerbrite
/ July 11, 2011Beautiful and sad. Rest in peace and rise in glory.
Lyn
/ July 11, 2011No matter what..the earth doesn’t change for us…very powerful..and life goes on, as you showed!
jgavinallan
/ July 11, 2011Victoria:
Very lovely…very sad…a good description of our life in general.
very good…
Jaye
Andy
/ July 11, 2011I hope your pain at the loss of your cousin will ease with time.
Sad & bittersweet.
Best wishes.
seabell
/ July 11, 2011A proof that sadness and beauty can walk together, like a pair of doves…
Chimnese
/ July 11, 2011Victoria i am sorry for your loss, but as the year progressed i hope everything is ok. As for the poem very heartfelt emotion coming thru and using the metaphor of the tree’s branches dying as that of a human.
ALIVE aLwaYz
/ July 11, 2011very moving, insightful and apt, autumn brings in fine colors you wish to display.
Jaan Pehchaan
/ July 11, 2011Sorry for your loss – The poem shows your heartfelt affection!
siggiofmaine
/ July 11, 2011Becca said it…bittersweet…
thank you for sharing this post of well chosen words
that have so much energy knowing the transition
they portray.
May memories of better days give you comfort of your
heart and soul.
☮ ♥ Siggi in Downeast Maine
wordcoaster
/ July 11, 2011They say the days have gotten 1.26 microseconds shorter. For some reason that’s a small comfort to me; it’s as if every time someone dies, the earth pauses for the smallest most infinitesimal amount of time. So even though life goes on, and the taxis honk and jackhammers roar–the earth takes a look at her deep secrets and reflects. Enjoyed your poem.
ladynimue
/ July 11, 2011tender and sadenning ..
aynsley7
/ July 11, 2011Wow, this is an incredible write… straight from the soul. Thank you
becca givens
/ July 11, 2011Victoria – a bittersweet dedication. I am sorry for you and your family as everyone adjusts to this transition. Blessings~~
DW
/ July 11, 2011finding beauty in pain….a beautiful write.
booguloo
/ July 11, 2011Much sadness felt. Well written. Sorry for your loss.