when the moon rises from sea in silver blaze & catches you crossing
the fragile bridge from girl to woman
when each paper you hold gives you fine bladed cuts at the same spot,
& door that you want to close keeps losing its key
when the clock refuses to move its hands when northern & southern
wind squares off in sky & you are torn which road to leap into
when i fret too much of unborn words too long
i turn off the voices around me, dive under the flood and let it run free
Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Featuring Kelly Letky's Photography
& Poets United
letting it go....diving free....that is the way to go, when nothing will...
ReplyDeletepaper cuts...ouch...i like how you built this grace....
and lovely pic by kelly....
... paper cuts are most painful ... so was moving from girl to woman ... still smiling though and still standing ... :) Love, cat.
ReplyDeletethat second stanza is painfully powerful.
ReplyDeleteNice! But, ha, I wish sometime that the clock WOULD forget to move its hands. Smiles.
ReplyDeleteO, I like too to go with a flow, butt the time comes and we need make a decision ...otherwise we'll keep doing what we're doing right now...
ReplyDeleteSometimes we just have to dive in head first and see if we sink or swim
ReplyDeletethe bridge is fragile indeed at that point....nicely put Grace :)
ReplyDeleteThis is really special Grace:)
ReplyDeleteWow. Such a mix of possibility at the moment of the riptide--you help me to see! I will keep this poem forever.
ReplyDeleteTo let go.. to let it run free.. just like growing up, much better than the paper cuts of hesitation...
ReplyDeleteoverall stunning, but the opening lines...glow...
ReplyDelete& the last lines...it sounds quite freeing...although for me it would be about shutting out the voices within...
fragile tide… the opening stanza is quite evocative and the whole poem washes over the reader. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think I lost my original comment, Grace. I remarked how assuredly your stanzas built to a climax in this excellent interpretation on Kelly's fine art.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lovely cadence to this Grace, and a true sense of diving into the depths--I especially liked the second stanza, the papercuts, such a strong feel to that..and the whole poem is full of such images. Beautiful, but not just skin deep.
ReplyDeleteThere is a beautiful sense to the build to climax here Grace--gentle but insistent--
ReplyDeleteletting it go, learning and then moving on.. "fragile bridge from girl to woman" such a nice image.
ReplyDelete"crossing the fragile bridge from girl to woman".......can be a perilous passage. The papercuts really work in this poem. I love the turning off of the voices. Doing some of that myself these days.
ReplyDeleteoh, my, i just love how you spun this down into that dive, the one that fixes everything, pulls us under, releases us. fabulous!!
ReplyDeletel love the first two lines!
ReplyDeleteCaught in the overwhelming flow of life not cooperating? Swim with the flow . . .
ReplyDeletegood advice - to turn off those voices and just dive in
ReplyDeleteWhen the going gets tough I dive under the blankets:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem of attaining maturity.
ReplyDeleteDiving under ~ great words .. no matter what we choose to dive under ~ down covers, waves, umbrellas, tents, shelters. I enjoyed this, Grace.
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts keep blaring in our mind, so sometimes its better to let them go:)
ReplyDeletethat 2nd stanza especially. good week, Grace ~
ReplyDeleteLove this--inspiring, like a river..
ReplyDelete.
When obstacles appear in its path
--she goes under, around, or over...
but keeps rollin' along..
(having recently passed from girl to woman!).
when i fret too much of unborn words too long
ReplyDeletei turn off the voices around me, dive under the flood and let it run free
somehow those lines made me giggle for some familiar reason because it happened to me lately as I'm writing a research paper for a Lit class online. hehehehe...good job!!!
Jamztoma
jamztoma.blogspot.com
fine bladed cuts at the same spot... ouch, but such a hopeful, positive ending.
ReplyDeleteI can't choose favorite lines, it is all beautiful. For some reason your ending speaks to me of my writing. I am forever fretting over words....I need to silence the voices and "dive under the flood and let it ( them) run free
ReplyDeleteI used to be a competitive swimmer and those last two lines spoke to me as I often found underwater solace from worry, unborn words, and voices around me.
ReplyDeletevery awkward moments, so... best to let it all out.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Hand on to the shore of your soul... nice snapshot of how we all feel sometimes.
ReplyDeleteZQ
Grace!! Wow. this is truly stunning...I love your opening and where you leave that second line hanging...very effective!
ReplyDelete