Tuesday in the Pub and it's time for Poetics! Dora is hosting ~ and challenges us to use repetition as a rhetorical device in our poems!
She wakes before dawn
shakes the sleep from her bones
lifts the shades with ready hands
four children rise and fall in her orbit
her breath steady, her heart full
[ though her husband drifts on distant tide ]
laundry, lunches, tears to dry
each piece of the day
stitched with invisible thread
all in a day's work
The weight of it settles in her spine
the endless clamor of voices
small hands reaching for as much as she has to give
she once cried into pots simmering on the stove
then wiped her eyes before anyone could see
it was never about being thanked
it was about holding everything together
in the mess of life, in the beauty of it
all in a day's work
Seasons turn to decades
aloneness finally comes
two souls go their separate ways
the children grown, job well done
[ pieces of themselves lost along the way ]
friends now, with a new respect, verging on tenderness
all in a day's work
Almost too sad for words...some srunnng turns of phrases and absolutely engaging...but brings tears...oh well, let 'em roll....there is such a poignant, yet hard, real tone to this piece..
ReplyDelete"All in a day's work" -- You pack a lot of life and love, blood, sweat and tears into that motto, Helen, and its rewards ("friends now, with a new respect, verging on tenderness"). What a rich use of repetition to take us through a day, a life! Love it.
ReplyDeleteDearest Helen,
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfectly chosen poem with all the tasks, ups and downs built in!
Indeed, that is life — holding everything together but the memories remain.
Hugs,
Mariette
A day's work well done.
ReplyDeleteA well written poem about the ups and downs of daily life.
ReplyDeleteAll in a day's work, yet that is a lifetime of giving and nurturing your children and yourself. Kudos to the mothers who do the work and keep it all together.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, Helen.
ReplyDeleteThat day’s work is familiar, Helen. As they say, a woman’s work is never done. I love the phrase ‘each piece of the day stitched with invisible thread’. Your poem made me cry.
ReplyDeleteALL in all those thousand days work actually...
ReplyDelete"it was never about being thanked
ReplyDeleteit was about holding everything together"
This is often the case. Hard work, tired to the bone day after day!
A beautiful and sad poem of life, Helen.
Not sure why I became anonymous!! Dwight
ReplyDeleteSo poignant, Helen, and sad. All in a day's work, every day, holding it together, until the two part. I'm glad they are friends now and with respect and tenderness. 💙
ReplyDeleteA touching portrait of what it is to be a mother, Helen, (and what a way to salt the cooking) but then, from "two souls go their separate ways " to
ReplyDelete"friends now, with a new respect, verging on tenderness ", is equally moving and an optimistic ending...
This is incredibly raw and poignant, Helen! That 2nd stanza has my heart ❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteYour poem made me think of my mom and wonder how she held us all together like she did.
ReplyDeletethis was very beautiful. so honest. so true.
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautifully written, with painful honesty.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely written as I, and I'm sure many others, can see elements of themselves in these words.
ReplyDelete