Friday, November 9, 2007

All that is left

There are many meanings for "left" which is one of Sunday Scribblings prompts for today. One might be left behind or left over or left in the lurch. One might have left the party early. This post is about all that is left when everything else is gone. I didn't write this poem today, but it seemed appropriate.

,The Gift of Words

You say I have the gift of words.

Someday my words may fail me,
lost in a maze of neurons, wells of words
with no bucket to retrieve them,
or they may tangle on my tongue
like Hannah’s yarn after her stroke
when she worried helplessly
among the skeins and needles.

Gifts are for giving.

Thus I would bequeath to you
a shimmer of words when I no longer
can order them into their patterns.
They will glint like breeze-tossed aspen leaves
or glimmer like showers in sunshine
where each drop holds a rainbow.
They will be as numerous as stars
as facets of waves
as moments of our love
and fragrant like water touching parched earth.
They will hold bird song and wind song
but, alas, no Mozart, no sonnets, no meaning,
just their fragments.

I will scatter them at random on a fragile web
spangled with words and syllables like sequins
and toss it scarf-like over you.

This is my gift.



15 comments:

ANA said...

It is a beautiful poem. Thank you for it, it is lovely.

Forgetfulone said...

Wow! That was a terrific poem. I enjoyed it very much.

Marianne said...

Beautiful and very touching.

gautami tripathy said...

Gifts are for giving. I wholly agree...

paisley said...

that is my dream.. to leave behind a legacy of words... this was beautiful.....

Tumblewords: said...

Thanks for sharing the nifty poem and for your piece of prose at the top that makes perfectly good sense!

Rena said...

A beautiful piece of writing. And you have a lovely blog, by the way.

June said...

Very poignant!

Secret Agent Mama said...

Thank you for that!!! LOVED IT!!

Patois42 said...

What a wonderful poem you've shared. Thank you.

tickledpink.nicole said...

You do have a gift for words. What a treat to read your poem and to remember to celebrate the words and time we have "left."

Christy Woolum said...

I loved your examples with words in this poem. It was perfect for the Sunday Scribblings prompt.

Odie said...

I really like your blog, and just loved this poem. Thanks!

Linda Jacobs said...

Wow, all the images in here are like 4th of July sparklers going off in my brain! Thanks!

BTW, The Kite Runner and Life of Pi are two of my favorite books.

Is there a way of italicizing in these comments? ~Linda

nonizamboni said...

Lovely images and hopeful words. Thank you for the 'scarf.'