Saturday 14 March 2009

washed by words

one-legged, tilted to one side-
rusted garden bench
now sprouted with weeds
witness of my past deeds

the way I used to sit there
waiting. waiting for you.
the glances, the kisses
we shared, curled to its corner

we talked of our future
you did. I only listened
totally washed by your words
love radiating from me

which could be felt from
a radii of a kilometre.
it went on and on
basking in your words forever

one similar day, same place
same me, but not you. never again.
no words. sound of breath,
one's own, is so hard to listen to.

this present, which in a way
is well into the future of what
not to be, is as colourful
as the drab earth you joined.

twenty odd years, I still can't let you
out of me. whole of me. in the
bigger picture of my dead life
farewell holds no meaning

50 comments:

  1. You've taken pain Gautami and turned it into beauty.

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  2. Oh, that was so sad.

    Loss does indeed leach colour from our lives and tilt the benches, doesn't it?

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  3. You paint such a realistic picture with your words, Gautami, but also on so sad. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. This will remain one of my favourites ones. I read and reread this many times.

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  5. A sad journey well written.
    Very touching.
    TJ

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  6. I feel the pain of this one. The conversation is so intimate and beautiful yet incomplete. Pain, it seems, never says farewell.

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  7. "bigger picture of my dead life
    farewell holds no meaning"


    When one put feelings into words, that wraps around the reader's mind, and makes it real .. well, darn it, that's poetry!

    I could feel the pain ...

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  8. Do you mind if I sit with you?

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  9. Your poem pulls us in to share your sadness. I particularly like the stanza with the phrase:
    "this present, which in a way
    is well into the future of what
    not to be..."
    That turn of phrase is very powerful!

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  10. So poignant Guatami, and so very beautifully said...

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  11. Did leave me with some heartburn - beautiful work.

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  12. I can so well relate to your sad tale...you told yours in a beautiful way.

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  13. I can so relate to "...washed by your words, love radiating from me" -- perhaps that is the fate of some of us, in real life we listen and absorb, but in our poetic life, we radiate to others :-) I know I am awashed by your words, time and time again!

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  14. The pain of lost and unrequited love is very hard to bear...you spoke of it beautifully here.

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  15. Very painful, very real. A very delicate wordsmith on a difficult emotional place. The last verse feels very familiar. Thank you.

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  16. This is so touching, so sad and so beautifully written. YOu've captured emotions that I can so relate to. Thanks Gautami!

    Hugs, G

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  17. Well done - this one tells the tale of who we were, who we are and who we will be. Good work...

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  18. You have found great beauty in the pain of this empty bench!

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  19. Dear Gautami--
    There's a part of me that wants to rescue by saying, is there anyone that's worth that type of agnegation? And then there's another part that says, sometimes.

    I've been there. I no longer live there. Both are good.

    Thank you, as always, for your gutsy honesty--

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  20. Such a sad farewell, still these many years later. Beautifully written, Gautami.

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  21. This is one of your best!

    this present, which in a way
    is well into the future of what
    not to be,

    I love this line!

    Sad but wonderful!

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  22. This poem, centered on that bench, is heart-breakingly beautiful. An emptiness is so hard to bear.

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  23. Such a sad and touching poem. I hung on every word.

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  24. That kind of love is best expressed in poetry as it follows us in time. Bravo Tami

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  25. washed in melancholy, heartfelt and some lovely imagery. Thank you for sharing.

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  26. it is hard to truly let go.. i think because they will always carry a piece of you.. a part of you was helped shaped by this person.. i could really relate to this especially:

    we talked of our future
    you did. I only listened
    totally washed by your words
    love radiating from me
    ---

    i felt that way too. that i was just listening and going along with everything without active decision.

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  27. Nice one..the promises before a farewell..a bitter taste of despair and all that future holds seems futile.

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  28. Oh girl! That poem is my song! My first love had a boy friend she was waiting for who was in the Air Force. When he came back, that was all, ist vorbei.
    ..

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  29. The poem grabbed me with its first lines. They made me stop and hold my breath while I pictured the bench.

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  30. i stopped abruptly in my reading with your words 'sound of breath,
    one's own, is so hard to listen to' because that phrase cuts to the quick of the pain of loss

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  31. .."this present, which in a way
    is well into the future of what
    not to be"..

    ..'sound of breath,
    one's own, is so hard to listen to'..

    ..lovely..many thanks..

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  32. Beautifully written, but oh, so sad...

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  33. Ah Tami, this is one of your best. Life sometimes does not give us a fair play. We find, we know and loose love. Beautifully written.


    love, Melanie

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  34. ur words are absolutely wonderful.

    i liked esp. the last line. farewell holds no meaning...

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  35. I see both outer and inner worlds in this poem. Very moving.

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  36. so lovely to touch on such a depth with someone
    so sad when that someone
    is no longer here
    you expressed this beautifully

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  37. I'm trying to decide if this is a poem about death or simply a poem about love and being reunited...I'll take the latter rather than the former.
    Sandi

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  38. It's been a LONG time since I visited - but what a great post this is.

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  39. I came here thank's to David awarding your his "Post of the Day Award" - congratulations!

    A touching prose monument to love, exquisitely composed! I hope creating such beautiful pictures of the mind out of your love gives you comfort and peace. Blessings, Merisi

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  40. I loved it the first time I read it, and now I'm back to say CONGRATULATIONS!! on Post of the Day!
    Sandi

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  41. I'm moved to tears. Beautiful.

    I came here through David's Post of the Day. Much deserved.

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  42. Beautifully written. Congratulations on the Post of the Day Award!

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  43. emotional piece...i felt your pain. congrats on POTD!

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  44. Absolutely touching and reflective. I LOVE THIS POEM!! Congratulations.

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  45. I ♥ your work, your thought process, the way you heal.

    Here from David's. So glad I came by.

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  46. tender piece. the depth of two connecting, sometimes lasts forever...

    Spirithelpers

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