Sunday, November 13, 2011

Lift and Break the Morning Out (Poem)


Image: Google Images, Photographer Unknown


Lift and Break the Morning Out

Turning back, what
        do you remember

of our last words
        dying into calming wind?

I read in the look
        from your shoulder

of milk-smooth skin
        no invitation to count

the beads prayed
        once for forgiveness,

to re-search old ground
        for signs the fallow field

before me will yet fill
        again with columbine,

fallen flowers no spurs
        to doves now silenced.

Who perches there,
        on scuffed rungs,

waiting for fog
        to lift and break

the morning out
        from under cover?

© 2011 Maureen E. Doallas
_____________________________

This poem is my response to today's poetry prompt at Magpie Tales, where Tess Kincaid posted the image shown above with instructions to write a poem inspired by the photograph. Go here to find links to the many other poems contributed today.

15 comments:

Kathleen said...

I so love the scuffed rungs and the hope of columbine!

Hannah Stephenson said...

The word "forgiveness" seems to resonate throughout this poem---very dreamy and wistful, just like the image.

Susan Anderson said...

I hope somebody perches there...

=)

Kay said...

i could feel myself searching through the mist!!..lovely.x

Jinksy said...

Mysterious...

hedgewitch said...

I read this yesterday(in fact it was the impetus which got me to tackle the prompt) and was amazed to temporary silence by your imagery here. The line breaks are extremely effective in conveying a sense of disjointed alienation, and the words themselves paint a sense of deep loss. Esp like '..no invitation to count/ the beads prayed/ once for forgiveness..' and the contrast 'once' makes with 're-searching.' And of course, the final classic lines which give the poem its title.

Maureen said...

This was my first time using a Magpie prompt. I enjoyed the opportunity. Thank you all for the very kind comments.

I learned from someone responding in comments section on the Magpie site that the image provided for the prompt is by Rosie Hardy.

Claudia said...

your words echo the ending and the loss, the never again and the too late...masterfully painted by breaking the lines in a way that i hear the wind rushing through them...

Jenne' R. Andrews said...

A beautiful and moving poem, Maureen. Lyrical yet very clean, nothing extraneous, each image earned, one after the other. May your spirits lift with those clouds...xxxj

Brian Miller said...

who perches on the rungs is my favorite part maureen...the recounting of the beeds of forgiveness too...what a futile effort...

Carrie Van Horn said...

Maureen this is magnificent....just love your writing!!

S. Etole said...

Caught up in the emotion of this.

Brandee Shafer said...

Sad. But lovely.

Intelliblog said...

Your words complement the image very well, even in their layout as well as their meaning. Lovely Magpie!

Maxwell Mead Williams Robinson Barry said...

beautiful.

:)