The Conversation
(Concerning a certain death)
When necessary I have enormous patience.
As when I waited years for one to be free to meet me
I knew would tell me truthfully all the details.
That night, when finally — we had to get drunk.
In vino veritas, but it wasn’t that. We knew:
No bearing it otherwise, that diving naked into
Grief’s most terrible depths. We knew also we must.
The Poetic Asides prompt #17 in the April Poem A Day challenge (2021) is to write about waiting. Knowing my subject matter but not how to tackle it, I tried an acrostic. I like the way it turned out to be about the immediate situation, with no real background.
Sharing with Writers' Pantry #66 at Poets and Storytellers United: A Bat and a Haiku Walk into a Bar.
Oh my... I truly feel my breath exhale on this one!
ReplyDeleteI love readers like you, who enter so fully into the experience!
DeleteVery moving. Leaves many questions!
ReplyDeleteSorry if that's frustrating! I decided I like the rather fragmentary nature of this piece.
DeleteFragmentary suits it.
DeleteThanks, Priscilla.
DeleteThe acrostic turned out to be the best choice, Rosemary; possibly a prompt for another time, only with a different topic. As they say, patience is a virtue; and everyone seems to be waiting for someone, and we know when they arrive. I love the phrase ‘diving naked into grief’s most terrible depths’ – it will stay with me.
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting how any constraint of form can force better results than free-flow.
DeleteBeautiful! The image intoxicating. I am waiting too for someone to tell me what happened many years ago, but not holding much hope it will happen. That way I don't have to be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI hope it happens for you. In my case, I knew I would get my answers once we could finally get together. It was an exchange that couldn't have been achieved by phone or letter (no email back then); it needed to be in person.
DeleteHumans often forget that they are animals to and exhibit many habits that clearly link them as predators for almost every other living creatures. Sadly we cannot see our own faults.
ReplyDeleteDear Robin, I think you must have meant this comment for some other poem and in haste managed to put it in the wrong spot.
Deletei think the poem works wonderfully as it is, fragmented. It feels that the truth is still unanswered.
ReplyDeleteThe questions I had were answered, and we were truthful with each other. Whether we were correct in what we thought we knew and understood....
DeleteNaked into the depths of grief, what a dive
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog today Rosemary. You passed by early. I have added stuff to the post. Drop by again
Much💛love
Thanks, I'm glad I did pop back for another look.
DeleteThere is a time for everything. There is precision in this patience.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is so.
DeleteI think it really worked well here Rosemary. The step from letter to letter felt like a slow releasing of breath and as well as a way to mentally steel oneself for what must have been a very emotional conversation. But sometimes those conversations are so very needed, and the emotions released bring some measure of relief.
ReplyDelete"Grief's most terrible depths." Perfect that we dive in naked, for grief does strip us bare. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI like what your mused weaved into being. It reads like the beginning of a novel. One that starts at the end, and then spends all the chapters of its life telling us the tale of how the characters got there.
ReplyDeleteHa, interesting idea.
DeleteI like it too ............
ReplyDeleteThis is a poem that allows the reader to plug in their own experience - I know what it means to ME, but it might mean something entirely different to you. Makes me think of the conversation my sister and I SHOULD have had upon my father's death...
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was hoping it would be that for its readers.
DeleteI deem this a cathartic poem, a riveting read leaving many questions.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about it being cathartic – although a long, slow catharsis achieved bit by bit over many writings.
DeleteWaiting with patience most often pays. The Acrostic worked nicely here and you did a "Good Job" with it.
Delete..
A case of 'all things come to those who wait'.
Delete