The Drop
They had let the conversation
Drop
He would not vow to
a promise he would not keep
She thought it all just a pretty party
They had not decided
Not quite yet
What they would do
When the baby came
Their flushed enmeshed excitement
Faded their fear, obliterated all urgency
It all seemed so distantly unimportant
And when the child came
In that rush of magic
They floated
Mystified by the majesty
Of their manifested union
Until
On a tide of others tenderness
They somehow stood
Dazed in incense
Breathing uncertain gasping pants
Sentient and not completely complicit
In a service showering spine chills
Hearing smiling prayers echo on vaulted
Marble and a single drop
Feeling sprinkled water divide
In two pings dangling on each furrowed forehead
As something holy scurries
Beginning family flaps ribboning
Into a distant forever
Their six packs of discussion
Discarded as forgotten empties
As between them
their wet-headed infant
Baptized into ambivalence
Sleeps
Oh Lord...this is a story. The six packs discarded as forgotten empties is a brilliant use of language, Pearl. Brava!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brenda - Awww - will sleep well after your lovely comment :)
DeleteL.ovely, lovely use of the wordle words: took me back to that special time
ReplyDeleteOh Viv- thank you, thank you for stopping and I am delighted that the wordle words carried an image of a time and place that took you back to a special time of your own :)
DeleteI enjoyed where the words too you with this wordle. Beginning a family is a time so full of feelings and, yes, confusion.
ReplyDeleteAh yes Peggy - delighted that you so clearly felt the sense of confusion of this situation that the words brought to me. Thank you for stopping :)
DeleteOh, this strikes close to home...3 wks from grandfatherhood!
ReplyDeleteOh congratulations on the excitement we are not in a very different personal position!
DeleteEnjoy the journey - and happy soon-to-be-grandfatherhood! :) A special thank you for stopping by and sharing!!!
Really like that line "As something holy scurries". Seems to underscore a bit of what this particular list of words has affected. Just as the naming of a child underscores the sense of sacred responsibility that action should lend itself to.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/prodigal-steps/
I am truly delighted that the poem that sprung from the words brought some pleasure to you. Thank you so very much for stopping by and commenting.
DeleteComplex story here. Not only a poem but a saga. Rich work!
ReplyDeleteThank you so very very much Mary, yes there is a good deal of complexity - I so very much appreciate your more than kind comments! :)
DeletePearl, I love the water imagery. And "Dazed in incense" is such a wonderful image.
ReplyDeleteRichard
Oh thank you so very much Richard for stopping by and for your specific comments - they do mean a great deal to me - I am delighted that you enjoyed the images as they came to me :)
DeleteWow! Their infant "baptized into ambivalence". Powerful. Hope they make it!
ReplyDeleteOh Sherry - yes that was an important line. Too many in these sorts of situations do have difficult times of it... Thank you for the "Wow"... :)
DeleteThere are so many wonderful acceptance rituals, into faith yet to be projected, as yet they are the innocents protected. Wonderful wordle.
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking for balance...:
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/09/sunday-whirl-76-feeding-souls.html
Thanks Jules - I like the idea of "faith yet to be projected" ... always appreciate your comments! :)
DeleteA complex story tole well with wordling. I've been away too long.
ReplyDeleteThank you Cheryl - Good that you are back. Wordling takes us to such interesting places doesn't it? So happy that you stopped in and left a comment. Very much appreciated :)
Delete"As something holy scurries" something about this phrase Pearl...sad and beautiful poem my friend.
ReplyDeleteAw Laura thank you - too often too many find themselves in serious unresolved spiritual situations such as this one.
DeletePearl Girl! Great to read you. Of course I'm a vet of many a baptism, but your sympathy for the couple, combined with a unique description of the ritual itself, was satisfying. Of course, they usually do it because Grandma bitches until they book a church... and then, that "ribbon" flies every which way because, cart before horse, they have not considered whether they values, the real values they hold dear, are on the same page, let alone the same BOOK! True for my first time at the altar... Great write, honey! Love, Amer (back after computer meltdown)
ReplyDeletehttp://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/09/24/last-post-before-break-twofer/
Very well done!
ReplyDeleteI love this Pearl; it's so life-affirming and took me to such a nice place, I have to admit, it was something I was really thirsting for and your word choice and imagery are just wonderful ... so very fine. Thanks.
ReplyDeletehttp://seingrahamsays.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/when-angels-fly-too-close/
Pearl, the final line and "something holy scurries" are brilliant. Catches one's breath the first it's read. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteExcellent poem!
ReplyDeleteambivalence
Calories bring about energy but excessive level of calories turns up
ReplyDeleteinto fats. If getting pregnant into good shape is important for you then simply because will not enable you to achieve that.
At the end of the afternoon (week, month, year, or decade),
your body doesn't care about your deficiency of planning.
A lemonade fast could be a fascinating and effective way to begin a diet diet.
ReplyDeleteMake the low-calorie options nearly all the foods you
eat but save just a little space for a number of treats. Simply jumping in to a dietary style that is not properly suited
to your needs or desires can be quite stressful and it is a lot likely to create additional problems along the
road.