Saturday 7 August 2010

musty scent of love

those old notes- yellowed,
in tatters, words smudging
I tape them carefully
to preserve them for you both

it is not quite dawn yet-
what am I doing in the wee hours
going through old letters
taking in the musty scent of your love

you know she sleeps in the next room
I don't wish to wake her up
like the way you were
ever so careful not to disturb her

what I see through my hazy vision
your words lovingly penned for her-
her words reciprocating,
my heart aches for her loss

I am no connoisseur on recipe of love
(but I know) she is still spellbound by you,
you can see that from up there,
but she cannot and that hurts her

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I get glimpses of my mom missing my dad, it hurts me too. She is careful not to show it to me but as her daughter, I understand how much she misses him. I miss him too but it is different for her. As it should be. As it ought to be. I always have wished for a love as strong as theirs. I write it for both of them, even though I know she will not like it that I can read her so well.

29 comments:

  1. Children often read their parents very well, more so than they think. A very heartfelt piece! Great post!

    -Weasel

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  2. The title of your poem captures the spirit of it so well. And thanks for having visited and commented on my site.

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  3. wow you said lots in this poem Gautami...read it a couple of times...lots going on...thanks for sharing all these words

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  4. What a beautiful poem and a beautiful love. Your parents were indeed very lucky. Wonderful poem.

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  5. i could relate to your thoughts Gautami...that was my mother when my father passed away in a fatal car accident, i could feel how she misses him but what can we do?

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  6. @Amity, our being there, understanding their loss, and basking in that love, is what they really need. And of course our love..

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  7. yes, love is needed.. esp from us if they're to survive the loss..

    a lovely take on the connoisseur topic Gautami..

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  8. A very sensitive and well-written poem. It took me back to when my mother was dying, and she made me promise to burn, unread, a bag of letters I would find in the loft; letters from my father when he was away in the RAF during the war. To my credit, I kept my promise, though I myself burned to read them. My Dad wrote such wonderful letters to me.

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  9. Wonderful poem, you must have had special parents... I see that with my parents too, both are still alive but my mother isn't with us in mind any more and my father works so hard to care for her.

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  10. That sense of loss of a loved one is so powerful. I also feel it with my Dad, who is gone. Your poem comes from the power of love and this loss. Well penned.

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  11. This is a beautiful poem, and you have captured well the very deep love between your parents. And as Weasel said, I think children often read parents very well...I think parents would often be surprised!

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  12. Your care for both of your parents comes through so strongly in this well written poem! So hard to see a parent's sadness.

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  13. I love the insights of your words Gautami
    Sandra (La Cocoa in Facebook)

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  14. Beautifully written and so accessible. Your mother's grief is palpable and your understanding is touching.

    Linda

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  15. So sweetly tender, this actually brought tears to my eyes.

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  16. This brought tears to my eyes also
    a beautiful heartfelt poem!
    Pamela

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  17. Such is the pain of losses we bear in our lives. well expressed.

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  18. how beautiful this is, and achingly sad - but I agree, we can only be there, love them...

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  19. This fits your assessment of Mom's situation well, Tami. It is well written.

    It also would fit most others seeing one who has lost a lover through death, divorce, or 'run-away' circumstances.
    ..

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  20. You touched the core Gautami.. for me it was other way round.. I lost my mom first.. Dad lived without her physical presence( I still find her around in spiritual dimension even after 30 years now.. ) I would see him often sad and lost in her memories..I always knew he hid his tears from us.. Thankyou Gautami you made me alive with their memories.. I am sure.. your Mom is also able to see your Dad perhaps in the silence of night, might be conversing too. God exists..yes..

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  21. A tender, poignant piece. Wonderfully presented.

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  22. Thanks Shail for sharing this!

    Lovely and touching! you bring to us a slice of our own nostalgia and longing.

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  23. This is truly deep and insightful. Awestruck by this poem

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  24. So many kinds of love depicted in this lovely piece--the special love your parents shared, your mother's sheltering love for you, and your tender daughter's heart.

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  25. Oh my! You totally touched me with this poem. As I was reading it, I was trying to figure out who you were referring to and about and when I read the explanantion it made sense. So very true- you captured the emotion and the loss so very well.

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  26. an intimate portrait of love ... beautiful.

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