Thursday, February 25, 2010

Some quiet time is needed


I feel a need to withdraw officially from this space until next week. I've been grappling with grief these last few days, and some personal issues. My friend's son died unexpectedly on Monday; he would have been 21 in mid March. I've been holding my children a little more closely, and relishing their weight in my lap. I find myself silently reciting lines to a poem I wrote nearly twenty years ago.... probably about the time this young man was a toddler.



Winter's Women


It is the howling
of wolves, surrounded
by peaks of snow-packed
longing. Their necks extend
heads back, ears flattened.
They stand solid, shamelessly
each mouth wide, jaws
relinquishing the call that is
frosted hot and deep
like the wind.

I have seen these wolves
in women whose grief
demands release from the
muscles of their abdomens.
They toss back their heads,
eyes closed and twisted into
red grooves, as the sound rises
from esophagus to tongue, out
into the wind. It is a harsh wind
which soothes the scorching
phlegm of each wolf's agony,
and the women know it.

4 comments:

patty a. said...

So sorry for the loss of the young man. I can't imagine the pain in one's heart. God bless.

Anonymous said...

Oh! I'm so sorry my sweet friend for your sorrow. Wish I could be there right now to hold you in my arms. Much love, Noreen

liz @ longview builders said...

so sad H. I am feeling for you and your friend too. Much Love.

Anonymous said...

I wish we could walk in the woods together and talk. Love you so much. -c