Monday, January 14, 2019

the last visitor




Skylight dims, paler than
tamarind, until all is dark clothing
covering the body changed    
by ill-health 

Tears didn't come
raining down 
in room bathed in 
dying flowers

Rather, each teardrop was pursed
in warm remembrance  
of what was, past
pinned, unsullied in pine board





Photo credit:  Here



Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by De Jackson.  This is a 44 word count, with the chosen word, Change.  Thanks for the visit. 

38 comments:

  1. Oh Grace. This is beautiful. It strikes home for me as I have a cousin who was suddenly struck down by a brain tumor: same as Senators Kennedy and McClain. He is struggling mightily as are his brother and sisters. I dug through old photos and sent them one of us -- all sitting at a table when we were probably 5 through 7 years of age. Made me smile. Made them smile. A memory board of sorts........death is so very hard but sweet memories we can treasure in photos that we save. As you can see, your post is visceral in its reaching out. I'm certain others will respond deeply to it. Beautifully writ - in just 44 words.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very touching. I had an actor friend who died of heart trouble at 48 years old. I sent him a dozen photos of he and I in various plays; it cheered him up immensely .

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is simply beautiful, Grace. Such a light touch on grief. And I love that tamarind...

    ReplyDelete
  4. This really makes me wonder.... we celebrated my mother's 90 year's birthday... and what she really has lost are all the memories... sometimes you are ripped even that. But we do keep a pinboard handy...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I read that first stanza and could so clearly see a figure standing alone in the darkness. I loved the word tamarind as well, it's the sort you can swirl round your mouth.
    I think a lot of us can link this to people we've lost or seen suffer. You've managed to make it beautifully personal and completely universal at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is light and delicate, like life fading away.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just having come from my mother's bedside, this poem really struck home, Grace. How cleverly you have dealt with the subject matter.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Paler than tamarind. Perfect. I've often looked for a word for that color.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Need to pin them many a time as they can fade as illness rises.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Seems we touched on the same part of day ...this is just a beautiful emotional poem with some deft touches ~ the tamarind sky, the bathing of dying flowers

    ReplyDelete
  11. So beautiful. I especially like the pursed tears in the last stanza.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I hate dead flowers in a sickroom. Makes me shudder. This is so visual, deftly done.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just shed one more tear in tribute to your loss Grace, so tenderly expressed in yout deeply moving poem...

    ReplyDelete
  14. "Skylight dims, paler than tamarind," -- beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  15. what a lovely poem on grief and death.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This reminded me so much of sitting by my mother's deathbed, watching her die. Such a light touch with a hard subject. The last stanza is so touching in its sad honesty.

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is so beautifully and poignantly drawn. Perfection.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm paying special attention to titles today - since they are such valuable addendums to our sparse word count. Yours is perfect. I agree with all the above comments and am now wildly curious about tamarinds- I know the taste,but nothing more but the word is equally delicious and bears further scrutiny.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is beautifully poignant, Grace. Especially love; "Tears didn't come raining down in room bathed in dying flowers." Such a strong image!❤️

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have been to some celebrations of life and the photo boards are always so amazing. They make people smile and remember happier days.

    A unique way to incorporate change into your poem.

    Have a nice week Grace!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Very touching Grace. Yes, tears come with each photo placed on that pine board! Loved the line … in room bathed in dying flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I can't bring myself to comment on the content; it's too fresh and painful. But the first two lines are especially beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  23. sensitive and evocative, and the word choice like tamarind is exceptional - and then the closing is really a startling take on what could be a more traditional "pine box" idea - so this is fresh and most appreciated for this type of context ...

    ReplyDelete
  24. a photo is worth a thousand words - Flowers are not my favorite - a letter or a visit from the person - playing board games - spending time - memories - they really are precious!

    "each teardrop was pursed
    in warm remembrance " Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Family photos are some of my most precious possessions.
    This is the part that resonated with me most,
    "in warm remembrance
    of what was, past
    pinned, unsullied in pine board,"

    ReplyDelete
  26. very touching (and sad) poem....."unsullied in pine board" is one of those lines that sticks in the head.

    ReplyDelete
  27. A gentle transition into a new reality. Beautifully done.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I agree with the above - the pine board ending is perfect not least because it has pine box overtones too

    ReplyDelete
  29. I like the association of teardrops and warm remembrance.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love the shift that happens across the three stanzas, Grace: the way the skylight dims to dark clothing and starts to lighten with the ‘room bathed in dying flowers’ and opens into ‘warm remembrance’, captured in a teardrop. A beautiful ode to grief. I also love the hint of closure in the final lines.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Beautiful and tender, Grace...we fade like old photographs but hold onto precious memories. You gave a light freshness to a heavy event.

    ReplyDelete
  32. A beautiful and poignant write Grace, I can especially relate to how 'each teardrop was pursed in warm remembrance' xxx

    ReplyDelete
  33. ReMarKaBLE
    Records Never
    Changing
    only
    Colors
    Our Memories
    More Creating
    LoVE LiFE GReaTeR..:)

    ReplyDelete
  34. In my friend's hospice room, her own room actually, a modern day pine board, a continuous slide show of family photos, a wash of grandchildren and memories. Did it make leaving harder?
    You have shared an evocative poem.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I too admire the tamarind, and the tenor of this pen - grieving, dark - but yet the dark is still filled with wonder ~

    ReplyDelete
  36. This is very heart rending and touching. Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  37. A beautiful poem Grace. I do hope you have a wonderful 2019.

    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!!!