Sunday, April 19, 2009

Poem

XXXXXXXXXXXXXNIGHTHAWKS/ Edward Hopper XX 1942
XX
XX
XXXXXXXXI WON'T
X
I don't like to cry.
I take steps to stop myself.
I know how.
x
Each time I feel a tear
touching my lash,
I look around to see if you are there.
x
Not a chance you'll ever see a drop.
It's the giving in, the giving up.
Let others fall down,
I won't break apart.
I'll never be Jack,
I'm not Jill the tumbler either.
x
My neck is white and smooth
Above the grey collar.
I swallow sharply,
throat confining a breath
that falters.
x
Control tightens like fingers
maneuvering a stangulation.
I stop short of dying.
x
Breathing becomes easier.
By now you know I won't.
x
x
x
c copyright / all rights reserved


13 comments:

Linda S. Socha said...

Oh Lyn
This one is so touching and so real at the same time. I can relate...I like your work.
Linda

Lyn said...

Hi Linda-
Thank you so much for your kind words..really appreciate it!

A Cuban In London said...

You can never beat a defiant poem. The 'you will never see me cry' theme is one with which I identify myself deeply. Loved your poem. Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

Lyn said...

Hi to A Cuban....
Thank you..it's all about mind and will, something that strengthens with age, I think!

Unknown said...

Hi Lyn,

I don't know whether keeping that stiff upper lip is good for us? A good cry can work wonders!

Lyn said...

Hi Derrick-
That may be true, but then my eyes will turn into puff balls if I give in to a sob fest!
I did sort of shed a bit of a tear when I heard Susan Boyle sing!That counts!!

Tess Kincaid said...

This poem is so powerful, Lyn. And I love the subtle charm of Jack and Jill woven through. Wonderful.

Susan Boyle made me cry, too.

Lyn said...

Hi Willow-
Thank you..I do love poetry, sometimes it's a big surprise to me too. I wonder at times, where did that phrase come from? Circling the planet, waiting to land!!

Anonymous said...

I love signs of strength but I also believe crying is not a weakness.But sometimes when one cries we do feel such.
I love the 'white neck and smooth above the grey collar' Great contrast.And all in all a lovely write, you.


BTW I never even realised I ended my 'scribble' on an optimistic note. So thanks for that. I don't know what I write half the time! Ha!Words just come to me and I write them down. I do not joke!

Kat Mortensen said...

Somehow you capture all those fragile moments of loss at the end of a love. Then there's the realization that you CAN go on and you get what I call the "So there!" attitude.

Kat

Lyn said...

Thank you so much! It's funny what others see in us..I look for optimism.
Crying? It's me.. but that's in the poem!
And writing..sometimes it feels like a miracle..where do those words, those ideas come from? I'm with you on this one!

Lyn said...

Hi Kat-
Thank you, you absolutely got it!
It is "so there"!
Not going to be another "little lady", when tears are so expected!!

Lyn said...

Hi SarahA
Sorry I didn't address you by name in my comment to you..SarahA, SarahA!!It's the one without the salutation..natch!!!

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