We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

29.11.19

I think about you: American sentences


I think about you: American sentences

(Observations on the foibles of human behaviour – more senryu than haiku-like – these are meant to be read separately, not as a sequence.)


My past relationships taught me love has many forms and many ways.

How difficult and hard to reach she has become since her bereavement.

That girl with the sweet voice is always using it to stir up trouble.

They contest the will, wanting to hang on to more of their dead father.

It’s not that I’m still grief-struck – just that I think about you all the time.

35 comments:

  1. The last one nearly broke my heart. It might be the reason behind the laughter (which usually leaves my mouth) when I hear someone says that times dulls all things. Some things, maybe... but others... well, one just can't help thinking about them "all the time."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that's on a par with 'You'll get over it.' One never really does.

      Delete
  2. These words resonate with more than usual since my grandfather passed away last week quite suddenly.
    Especially this - How difficult and hard to reach she has become since her bereavement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My condolences to you. Grief is a long and varied journey.

      Delete
  3. You convey the suggestion of much larger stories in this brief sentences. That is an art.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh these are so hard to do and you've got into the groove... I tried them once and well.. struggled :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I quite like them, but I agree they are not all that easy.

      Delete
  5. I really like American sentences and their many possibilities. Your selection here, Rosemary, is wonderful and wise when read individually, but I like to think of them as fragments of a story, waiting to be pieced together. The last one choked me up, especially as it was the third anniversary of my mother’s death this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My sympathies. After only three years, grief is still very new.

      Delete
  6. I totally agree with Kerry Rosemary.

    The middle sentence reminds me of someone I know...
    Anna :o]

    ReplyDelete
  7. Each one a separate story - so poignant and insightful

    ReplyDelete
  8. These moments are part of life and they make us what we are.

    ReplyDelete
  9. All wonderful senryu / sentences indeed. #1 speaks most directly to my own experience. (I been around some).

    ReplyDelete
  10. These are so poignant, Rosemary! The last one left me clutching my heart. Grief is a process and a long journey. We never truly forget.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I will have to try an American Sentence Poem. I don't think I ever have. I love them all but the third sentence really struck me with the whole mean girl culture and mentality.

    ReplyDelete
  12. My past relationships taught me
    love has many forms and many ways.

    The beauty of many relationships is that one comes away wiser at the end of each one of them. It's a learning process being enjoyed when it lasted!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautifully touching American Sentences Rosemary.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Each one of these resonates in the heart and mind. I pictured a person in my life with each line but the last one, I pictured myself. I experience grief in my life but to say I understand is incorrect. I don't know your experiences well enough to say that, Rosemary. I hope that your pathway through grief allows you to be a stronger person. I wish you well.

    ReplyDelete
  15. They all lead, set up the last line. I like the format.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Stirrer of trouble, may your voice turn harsh so that you are no longer able to trick people!

    ReplyDelete

  17. All of these reflect thoughts we can relate to, especially grief. Probably they can all evolve into a longer poem or story. I like all of these and am envious of your creative expression. I think I may try writing these, but I find Haiku such a difficult form that I imagine writing senryu is just as difficult (for me).
    I so much enjoyed reading these.

    ReplyDelete

  18. "That girl with the sweet voice is always using it to stir up trouble."

    This one i like best. Par excellence for its irony

    Happy Sunday

    Much✏❤✏love

    ReplyDelete
  19. Astonished at how succinct each is and how they resonate!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am reminded of working on character sheets for novels--these feel much more to-the-point and expressive.

    ReplyDelete
  21. All of them are so much more than the simple sentence, like the fact that they each are also a character portrait.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I loved the simplicity and ease of these--their compactness speaks to the expressiveness of each brushstroke you use here

    ReplyDelete
  23. You rocked this format. These all say so much in their brief space - especially that last one. It doesn't matter how much time goes by, grief can still swallow a person whole.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I like all of these, Rosemary. You are right, one never does "get over" the loss of a spouse. Get somewhat better than the grief but the feeling for loss remains.
    Thank you for reading my efforts while I've been gone. I wish to apologize for not always returning your comments. I hope to tell of my absence experiences when I can make them fit in. The Sabbatical ends this week.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wonderful observations. And thank goodness for the girl in the middle!

    ReplyDelete
  26. This poem really resonates with me. My oldest daughter lost in the love of her life in September. Cancer is a beast.

    ReplyDelete
  27. For what we assume to be the most advanced form of life on Earth we have little understanding of our own emotions. I wonder why we are embarrassed when we make a mistake or shy when we meet someone that is extremely attractive and may even blush. If I was a dog I would go straighht up to that beautiful bitch and start licking her, hoping she ewoulkd start prancing around hoping we could play chasey so we really get to know each other!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Writing an AS with nuance is an art. You have truly nuanced this form. The last one is heartbreaking.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I enjoyed all of them especially the reason for contesting the will.Guffaws!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I really like all of these. That last one -- it resonates with me.

    ReplyDelete

DON'T PANIC IF YOUR COMMENTS DON'T POST IMMEDIATELY. They are awaiting moderation. Please allow for possible time difference; I am in Australia. ALSO, IF YOU ARE FORCED TO COMMENT ANONYMOUSLY – do add your name at the end, so I know it's you!