The Thing Is
to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you've held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you've held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.
I like it.
ReplyDeleteLoved it. I posted it yesterday, too, for Poetry Friday. I think it's just perfect.
ReplyDeleteIt's neat that we both posted it -- it gives me the feeling of pleasure that I get from hearing my favorite pieces randomly played on classical radio and knowing that unseen others are listening too.
ReplyDeleteI like it--even though I look down and see that the Word Verification for this comment is: wince.
ReplyDelete"...an obesity of grief,
ReplyDeleteyou think, How can a body withstand this?"
(groan)
Too perfect, in a good way.
Yeah, I know, CC.
ReplyDeleteI love poetry that hits hard using an economy of means.
to love it even
ReplyDeletewhen you have no stomach for it
and everything you've held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
This part grabbed me and made me hang on...
Thanks for posting!
Yes, it rather made my day that we had both posted it, unbeknownst to one another.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked this:
ReplyDelete"Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,"
because it reminds me that love is actions, not feelings.
Thanks P.