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Blond or Brown or White or...

They talk to me of love and pain,
The ones with hair still blond or brown.
They weep real tears from passions thwarted and betrayed
They sing and laugh and strew love petals madly about this musty       -       room.
As if I understood, as if I still recalled so much emotion.

Blackened roses hang stem up in the attic.
Brittle leaves like knarled fingers
Reach lifelessly upward from the floor’s dust.

I sit silent, nodding, dead behind the eyes
Enigmatic smile play-acting on my lips.

They say I am the only one that they can tell
The only one who understands.
The blond or brown heart feels relieved of sin, so understood.
Goodbye, Grandma, goodbye...
The tornado of euphoria or angst now calmed, now blessed
Swirls out into the afternoon.

On yellowing manila paper
Photos fade, blacks to grays, whites to grays
Frail arthritic fingers turn crumbling pages
Who were all these cheese-smile faces?

Years ago I relegated memories to scrapbooks
In time, scrapbooks to the dumpster.
I have at last forgotten if not forgiven
Exhausted, alone,
No, no I do not understand, do not remember.

I'm looking for a different title - suggestions?

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Reviews


  • gypsy dreams
    June 18, 2006
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    excellent poem.loved it
    keep delighting us.

  • Dun
    June 27, 2006
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    I often peruse your works anonymously.

    And I have come to regard you as one of my favorites. You write of advancing years but possess a sharp mind, skilled at imparting mood and nuance. I feel what you are writing, and powerfully so. You quite masterfully weave emotional scenes that haunt and remain in my mind long after I have read your work. Poetic freeze-frames of life. I look forward to what you create.

    Al

    . Rewarded 4


  • August 23, 2006
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    Alright

    I sort of think that Scrapbooks might be a decent title to it...

    On the poem, I think it was alright. Nothing special, but certainly alright. I didn't like the form or find there was a good flow, but...it is rather nice anyway I enjoyed reading it. I think the title needs changing...the first line really caught my attention, and you have some fantastic imagery here. I like the last line, it ends the poem wonderfully. Thank you for sharing!

    . Rewarded 4

  • devipriya
    November 3, 2006
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    sweet and sad at the same time

    forgiving is forgeting .