Thursday, February 11, 2021

the light had dimmed

                                                                                             Author: Eddie Kips
Image: A Slow Walk Home (here)

the 12 given Wordle words:
father came front door faces light 
star own tragedy near lock believe

many years ago specifically 
it escaped his mind
but fresh in memory his loving father
was ever so thoughtful

there was always something 
in his hands when he came home 
through the front door

faces lit up with high expectations
it was something to eat and share
or a present not for anything specific
but reasons cooked up to justify it

fast forward a decade perhaps
the light had dimmed 
the star no more bright
even for his own birthday 
it needed reminding

he could not get over it
the tragedy consumed his gentleness
nothing violent but he was lost

now a quick change in personal traits
no more the jovial person
that the neighbors encountered
in that quaint village 
but a near hobo needed to be shown home
to be in his locked room

believing that better times 
would favour him again
for his mind is still sanely clear
sadly though faint whispers of her name
in soliloquy could be heard 
Mom was always there for him

MMT's Sunday Whirligig Wordle #305
Grace at d'Verse  Meeting the Bar - setting

14 comments:

  1. How sad when this happens. Hope all is well Hank. Thanks for joining in.

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  2. Hank, to see such a beloved parent take a turn from vibrant and sharp-minded to shadowy-minded and needing to be locked in has to be difficult and painful. Saving grace is your mom being there with him.

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  3. Time can be a thief. I'm going through a similar experience with my mom. Stay strong.

    Pat

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  4. So hard for folks to watch the inevitable loss of someone they love .... your poem describes the scene well.

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  5. Oh, this is so sad. The change in someone you love, especially a parent, can really mold a young child's outlook. The vibrancy he once held shimmered with loss. That must be so hard to go through and experience. As always, you draw us in with your amazing poetic abilities, and as always, you leave us with a gut punch on the way out from your haunting, profound words.

    What I mean really is that you never waste a word or phrase. Everything is put in with reason, caution, and above all, emotion. It takes one hell of a poet to do that, to stir these emotions. That's amazing.

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  6. Heartbreaking to read as I only know too well what's it like to get older. Yes the light do go out Hank but I do have one bright spark on my birthday you see twnety years ago my only grand daughter was born on my birthday.

    Take care.
    Yvonne.

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  7. Hank — I am way too high — come on over and fly with me! I will be back earthbound tomorrow to tread.,!

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    Replies
    1. Hank —- Poetry is the statement of power that sets the soul free, to be, exactly who you are — and in being just that, to introduce your truth to the world!..

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  8. This is a heartbreaking tale Hank and you really took me along with you. I hope he found his way back home.

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  9. What a sad story, using the words quite well. So hard for his wife.

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  10. Beautiful ballad-like lament of loss and grief, both for the living and the dead.

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  11. This is heartbreaking to read. I am so sorry if you are experiencing this with a parent or family member. I have written several poems about this kind of "loss". It is a living loss that is so much more painful as you see someone you love slip into the darkness.

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  12. This demonstrates how the power of grief cannot be overstated.

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  13. This is so painful... I saw it happen to my mother and when she died it was almost a blessing..

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