Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Elegy, and a Daffodil

This poem is for Cindy, who died a year ago today — and for her good friend Kathy, and the others who miss her so.

What Came to Me

I took the last
dusty piece of china
out of the barrel.
It was your gravy boat,
with a hard, brown
drop of gravy still
on the porcelain lip.
I grieved for you then
as I never had before.

by Jane Kenyon
(courtesy Poets.org)


And here is a lovely daffodil poem.

Nearly Twenty Years

Nearly twenty years
I tell him I love yellow roses
They are delivered
Red or dark red
I thank him for remembering

The anniversary date
The accomplishment
The growth
The change

Nearly twenty years
A bouquet of daffodils, daisies, periwinkle, iris
A white dress, a black tuxedo
I tell him I love periwinkle
He remembers

The periwinkle shirt
The small periwinkle bracelet
The periwinkle earrings
The periwinkle paper

Nearly twenty years
Daffodils blooming in the center strip
Yellow like the roses I love
The very yellow in my wedding bouquet
My son says he can’t remember

Seeing such beautiful flowers
Seeing condensed color in a road
Seeing spring coming forth
Seeing sunlight as bright

Nearly twenty years
I long for yellow roses
I see yellow daffodils
I think of my husband, my sons
And I wonder if they will remember

by Maryclare Maslyn

Tomorrow, more daffodils.

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