Saturday, January 12, 2013

Still restless




inside me lives a restless child 
taller than her mother, daydreams 
bright afternoons of hide and seek
as she pares fruits and salts the soup-

she runs carefree as daffodils 
a restless child inside me, she  
curls like a spring bud reading books,  
writing notes of rebellion and 

thinks about flying into space
as she cleans the dirty dishes - 
inside me lives this child, woman  
of wrinkles and blue tattooed lines -  

she has traveled many roads, now 
smaller than her children, she (still) dreams 
of painting sunsets, catching storms- 
restless- this woman is (still) a child -        


Posted for:  D'verse Poets Pub - Poetics of growing up  ~  Thanks to Stu Mcpherson ~

Poetry form:  Quartern - written in 4 quatrains with a refrain in each successive stanza.   


Inspiration:   Brazilian poet , Ana Lins dos GuimarĂ£es Peixoto, Cora Coralina:   All lives -
Ana published her first book when she was 75 years old.       Picture credit:  here                                           

57 comments:

  1. Yes, I think we each carry with us the child we once were; and are still that child in many ways. As long as we can dream...........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe that Mary ~ Thanks for the visit ~

      Delete
  2. thinking about flying into space while cleaning the dirty dishes...i like...it's good to feel that this child inside is still alive..

    ReplyDelete
  3. smiles...beautiful....love he subtle transitions....taller than her mom then the smaller than her kids....ther eis def still a child in there...and in me as well..a part of us that will never grow up....smiles...keep dreaming, keep painting....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a challenge to keep it alive ~ Thank you Brian ~

      Delete
  4. And that is something you and all should hold on to, as being a child is sure fun, even if we have to be a responsible one and do the dishes haha

    ReplyDelete
  5. Grace- the quatern works perfectly here, like an echo of your dreams.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Laurie ~ The form was fun to do ~

      Delete
  6. We all get those moments where something wake the child within in and nothing can keep that energy from seeping out. I loved this!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely, I always wanted to be a rockstar as I cleaned the dirty dishes... this one made me smile and brought back my own memories... glad you still carry the child within. Thank you thoroughly eenjoyed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. awesome form...and an awesome poem!....without that child inside us, i genuinely believe we die. In fact, I think for those people who DO lose it, or let it sleep anyway, walk the earth in limbo...its pretty clear to see, I've met a few of them!...some beautiful lines in this Grace

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think its important for the child to live within us ~ Thank you Stu for the wonderful prompt ~

      Delete
  9. Great work ! Both the text and image. Wearing some ink meself, certainly moving. Please have a good Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Really beautiful piece Grace. And I relate. Great work. Love the new header on your blog--nice shot :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jennifer ~ Thought I will use my own picture for the header ~

      Delete
  11. Oh, beautifully said and I agree--we are all still children inside.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh I love this and can very much relate. I really connected with your description 'there is a child inside, who is taller than her mother' which for me had an Alice in Wonderland feel. Your inner child squashed inside of you but outgrowing you every day and trying to find a way to stretch her limbs and be released! Great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love your interpretation ~ Thank you dear ~

      Delete
  13. Yes, I think we all have an inner child, bound in chains in some basement somewhere, afraid that if we let it out we will be considered foolish. Or worse. Let it out, I say. Thank you. Your poem was a sweet start to my day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, foolish and carefree ~ Thanks JCN ~

      Delete
  14. I agree, we have to hang on to our inner child because that is where we first discovered love and laughter. I loved this, Grace, just beautiful. Have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the lovely thoughts Elsie ~ Have a wonderful weekend too ~

      Delete
  15. all the little old ladies and gentlemen we see must all have a child in them..that can't get out, but it's enough to keep them going ..memories..

    ReplyDelete
  16. OwWooo!!! Golly, beautiful, every staaaage of the way. The form is a good choice for this lifelong relationship the narrator has with herself.

    ReplyDelete
  17. ...forever young at heart, Grace... perhaps, that might be the very secret to perpetual happiness...to live forever young at heart... I'm afraid i can't joim the pub today...i'm bound to meeting my deadlines in finishing taxes...then i'll be drafting finacial statements... I am working as a corporate accountant that's why it's already given to have unending number works...aww...blessed sunday to you...smiles...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful ... the child lives within us always :-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. How lost that child can be until we remember. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I like the recurring child in every verse. You build different perspectives on the theme, and there is a quiet integrity to the whole.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Very evocative and so true. The child inhabits us forever.

    ReplyDelete
  22. it is a strange thing feeling grey and small at the same time. great poem.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nice to honor the child within us. I like how you express this. I also like the inspiration of your poem I love hearing about women who publish in old age. It gives me hope.

    ReplyDelete
  24. she has traveled many roads, that says it all

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh goodness this is quite amazing. I also love the choice of picture.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Lovely. I agree that it's important to keep your inner child alive :-)

    ReplyDelete
  27. So yes! What excellent details of daily life, and your repetition and reversals work so well. Great form to contain your message.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Aging is actually being a child again.
    If only, the kids that the person had, understood it.

    ReplyDelete
  29. One thing is to feel the child inside you, and another thing is to be it. I enjoyed your poem. It is like you say: despite anything, I am a child. May everyone want to identify, being children not by play but by faith in God.

    God give you a nice week!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Such an effective treatment, alternating between the two portrait of the child inside, and the older woman. It underlines the contrasts and similarities so well. I love the way you've formed these subtle thoughts in quatrains.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Love this poem and its form. I, too, occasionally feel like the child I once was and maybe could still be,,,

    ReplyDelete
  32. We all feel like that - I remember my grandma, in her 90's doing a sashay across the room to a dance tune, smiling. In that moment, I could SEE the young girl still inside her. Great write! Loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I think the child lives inside us until the day we die.

    ReplyDelete
  34. really like this. There's a beautiful contrast of image and reflection here. The mundane task of chores paired with the dreams, so creatively spun. Excellent. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  35. Beautiful...there is the child in me that will forever stay no matter my age. She has been wounded and bears scars, but joy has been my healer.

    ReplyDelete
  36. You just take great care of that child there, you have a treasure to be sure! Great write.

    ReplyDelete
  37. There needs to be something of the child we were in each of us; that sense of wonder at discovering new delights of all kinds, that need to be playful and even, at times, a bit rebellious. It's such a shame that so much effort is made by so many to smother the inner child - and such a relief that he/she simply refuses to die.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Beautiful! It's good to always remember that part of us.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Forever young, the child remains in the adult. Beautiful language and flow.

    ReplyDelete

I try my best to reciprocate comments and visits.
I allow anonymous comments if you have difficulty posting them. Thank you & have a good day!!!