At Times …
I have, at times, a slight wheeze
in the back of my throat,
which, coming up unexpectedly
as if from nowhere, sounds just like
the plaintive miaow of my last cat –
my darling, my treasure –
a strange foundation
for loving memory, I must say,
yet no less affecting for that,
catching me quite like a sob….
Written in response to Poets and Storytellers United's Weekly Scribblings #34: Foundation.
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)
The strangest things often remind us of what we have lost, whether it be people, pets or just belongings perhaps left on the train or bus. Your sob at the end made me feel sad about it too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the empathy!
DeleteOh wow...yeah, I've been startled by the odd things that turn a memory into a full technicolor and immersive moment. And I'm thankful, even for the ones that take a swipe at my heart, because it means the time spent making those memories was good.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed.
DeleteNothing's ever lost; everything comes back to us, sooner or later, sometimes in the least expected circumstance. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteAh yes, pets throughout our lives .... memories trigger so many emotions.
ReplyDeleteYou must miss your cat very much...so sad.
ReplyDeleteI do. But c'est la vie. (And also la mort, I suppose.)
DeleteYes indeed we always want the good things to go on and on and on
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday. Stay safe
Much 💝love
Same to you, Gillena.
DeleteWho knows what will trigger an emotion? It's a mystery!
ReplyDeleteThis one was kinda startling at first.
DeleteTriggers for memories are vastly varied. Thanks for sharing this one so eloquently.
ReplyDeletePoems also rise from surprising sources sometimes.
DeleteMemory is such a complex mistress, isn't she? I do love it (and sometimes finding just as breath-catching) how she can show up in the most unexpected moments, places, sounds...
ReplyDeleteSometimes very strange. And in cases like this, always ultimately welcome.
DeleteRosemary, I think it was a stifled sob. I get them sometimes too, ever since a terribly sad for me dissolution of my first marriage.
ReplyDelete..
Some sorrows we don't get over, just learn to live with.
DeleteThis poem is so moving, Rosemary, a sob caught in my throat. I too had a darling, treasure of a cat. She was killed four years ago. My laptop often throws up a photograph of her, sometimes she brushes past me in half-sleep, the sob is always waiting in the back of my throat.
ReplyDeletexx to you, Kim.
DeleteLove that description of grief. I almost wanted to clear my throat for you while reading this.
ReplyDeleteNow that made me smile! Bless you.
DeleteYou never know what might come back to you at the oddest moment.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Rosemary!
Yes! Thank you.
Delete