Your sparse poem feels cut just right, not too tight. I often stumble in this way, so recognize when it's done well. Thanks for sharing Lowe today, Dick!
Aw cheers Kim! That means a lot. It's a real practice with cutting, for sure. Getting it to join up again just right. So glad you enjoyed Lowe as well. :-) Hope you're well.
I find myself fascinated most of all by a whole stanza, the longest one of this short poem, taken up with the transcription, fragmentary, of the inscription on the stone itself. Stanza as snapshot or rubbing, capturing the experience of tracing out the words, the name, the dates, the relationship, the prayer: a life, what remains in memory, connecting to a long-gone stranger. Or maybe an ancestor? And why this one stone among many singled out to be transcribed?
I love walking in graveyards and looking at the stones and praying for the people there, long gone. This poem captures so perfectly all of that experience.
Aw wow - love your reflection on that stanza. It's such an amazing moment in the poem, and yeah, I agree, it perfectly captures that sense of walking through a graveyard, and reading old gravestones, wondering who each person was, and what lives they lead. It's a humbling experience. 🖤
Your sparse poem feels cut just right, not too tight. I often stumble in this way, so recognize when it's done well. Thanks for sharing Lowe today, Dick!
Aw cheers Kim! That means a lot. It's a real practice with cutting, for sure. Getting it to join up again just right. So glad you enjoyed Lowe as well. :-) Hope you're well.
Lowe's poem is astonishing. Your take is as bright as its imagery, Dick.
Ikr! Such a striking piece of poetry. Blows me away. :-) Aw cheers Portia - appreciate it. Hope you're doing well. Thanks for stopping by.
"Lighter now" yet a burden hangs in the air. 🖤
Yeah, that's sometimes the way. 🖤
I purchased Before The Earth, love it! Very inspiring
Awwwww wow - thanks so much Momo - I am so glad you're enjoying it, and are finding it inspiring. Means so much you would say so. 🖤🖤🖤
I find myself fascinated most of all by a whole stanza, the longest one of this short poem, taken up with the transcription, fragmentary, of the inscription on the stone itself. Stanza as snapshot or rubbing, capturing the experience of tracing out the words, the name, the dates, the relationship, the prayer: a life, what remains in memory, connecting to a long-gone stranger. Or maybe an ancestor? And why this one stone among many singled out to be transcribed?
I love walking in graveyards and looking at the stones and praying for the people there, long gone. This poem captures so perfectly all of that experience.
Aw wow - love your reflection on that stanza. It's such an amazing moment in the poem, and yeah, I agree, it perfectly captures that sense of walking through a graveyard, and reading old gravestones, wondering who each person was, and what lives they lead. It's a humbling experience. 🖤
the branch
how many leaves
lighter now
Beautiful insight!
Aw cheers Harley 🖤 When I originally published the poem, that section was slightly different. I am really glad I went back and worked on it. :-)