Tuesday, October 11, 2011

How Everything Turns (Poem)

How Everything Turns

How everything turns
away — the leaf

from the tree,
a whorl readying

for fall's striptease;
the bird

from the nest
the eagle poached,

that single feather,
ruffled, left behind;

the messenger
from the recipient

who knows no good
news comes

with the unmistakable knock
on the door;

the sender
from the letter

read accidentally,
the words he confessed

but claimed he'd not meant;
the face

from the gaze chilled
with the words

spoken with a hand curled in
on its own goodbye.

© 2011 Maureen E. Doallas

My audio recording of the poem:

 Audio Recording of How Everything Turns by mdoallas

23 comments:

Glynn said...

Lovely poem - and that last line - "a hand curled in on its own goodbye" - beautiful.

Hannah Stephenson said...

I love each of the examples---surprising and interesting choices.

I like the narrative that kind of develops from "the messenger" onward....how we turn toward and away from the people mentioned.

HisFireFly said...

Beautiful Maureen.
Stirred here.
Left praying that I turn toward...

Beverly Diehl said...

Lovely, sad, poignant - and you have a beautiful reading voice, Maureen.

S. Etole said...

left wondering about that last line ...

Timoteo said...

Truly touching.
(P.S. There is an extra "in" in the last line.)

Maureen said...

Thank you, Timoteo. The extra "in" is now out. (Fortunately, I didn't say it twice in the audio.)

Louise said...

Beautiful & sad poem..very poignant...I felt touched..

Brian Miller said...

def stirring and a felt sadness as well...maybe goodbyes do that to me...

robkistner said...

a melancholy essence of separation, of loss -- moving write Maureen...

Jenne' R. Andrews said...

I almost hear echos of Rilke here, Maureen, in moving from statement to statement via particulars, i.e. Everything Turns Away makes me think of the poem I just worked with from the Rilke blog about the things that leave us-- and how I felt I needed to counter it. I love the notion of autumn's striptease and again the form you're working in works beautifully. Thanks for your very kind words on my effort for today. xxxj

Pat Hatt said...

Love the use of the falls striptease, truly touching write.

Ann Grenier said...

"Everything turns away": such sad words. A melancholy, beautiful poem Maureen.

hedgewitch said...

Working from the outer world to the inner, each example rings true and a little closer to home, till the final turning away, shadowed, becomes clear. Fine, spare, dignified, yet filled with an all too human pain.

signed...bkm said...

A hand curled at it's own goodbye...love that image..great work Maureen...bkm

Patricia said...

so beautifully written... rich expression and sadness within these examples.

ayala said...

Touching and beautiful !

Ann LeFlore said...

so touching and so beautiful a good by with a closed hand wonderful image
http://gatelesspassage.com/2011/10/11/the-day-of-the-dead/#comment-1682

tinkwelborn said...

3 Wows here. love this poem.

fall's striptease...this is a tease. love it.

The 'Turn' to away...
so evoking, the empty nest with the single ruffled feather...Loss.
the letter...Loss

evoking sentiment...saddness.
it moves me...your poem has affected me. good job.

Bonnie Gray said...

Maureen, it made my soul happy to hear your read your beautiful poem. My heart much richer having heard it. You have a beautiful, poetic voice, friend to match your lyrical words.

Anonymous said...

Really nice..... and thoughtful. I don't like that unmistakeable knock on the door...... Really enjoyed listening to you read this poem!

Beachanny said...

I really love the autumnal feel of this, and the ghazal quality (wasn't sure if you meant it to be a ghazal) but there was a thread that ran through it, that tied each couplet together and yet each one at the same time changed. Spare, minimal, concise imagery. Great!

Ruth said...

These are fine, evocative images of turning away, Maureen. I was especially struck by the messenger turning away after delivering the message, not knowing the impact. It's haunting!