08 July 2012

Rain


She sat at the window in the straight back chair
and stared out. Just that image remains.
She wore her gray sweater and plaid skirt, her hands lost
in the deep pleats. I saw her face from the side and the rain just beyond
as it poured down the window pane.
"What are you looking at?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing." she answered.
I knew somehow, young as I was,
not to ask more questions, knew there was a truer
answer than "nothing", although
I couldn't know what it might be. She seemed so
far away, her stillness absolute, the rain constant.
At levels below words the rain drummed answers.


This was posted in response to a prompt about weather from Stu McPherson at dVerse Poets.

18 comments:

  1. This is a lovely poem, so delicate and full of things to think of later. I particularly like "Just that image remains." Thank you.

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    1. Your welcome and thanks for stopping by. It amazes me what springs to my mind when I read the prompts.

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  2. I can feel an ache in this. Lovely.

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    1. It's an enduring image of my mother who I now realize was depressed. I saw her in that same position many times.

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  3. this is evocative...filled with subtle emotion...it kinda welled up for me there in the end...with the rain underneath....really nice piece

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    1. Thanks, Brian. It brought back some strong emotions for me too.

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  4. So open to interpretation....but that is what makes this so strong .... And the rain pouring down the window heightens the emotions beautifully.....sometimes 'nothing' means so much more.....very well excecuted writing

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    1. Thanks, it makes me realize how much children pick up on an emotional level before cognitive understanding.

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  5. love the scene you paint so sensitively here...and the idea of the rain drumming answers...there's always sth. soothing in the rain..

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    1. Yes, the rain was a mirror for my mother's feelings yet also a soothing teacher.

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  6. Think the drops could tell us a story........

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  7. This is a lovely reflection on aging and the perspectives that each stage of life brings. The ending is superb in its suggestiveness, both of unspoken words but the way that nature enfolds our beings.

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    1. And how the stages we haven't yet entered remain mysterious with nature as our constant.

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  8. A lovely simple beautiful poem. It really is quite well done - the points made without overstatement.

    Your grandson is adorable. k.

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