I was cleaning my apartment when I rediscovered a poem that a friend from long ago wrote for me back in 2001. It’s sad that we lost contact. This piece just addressed a certain part of me that longed for a companion. I remember writing a poem in response to it while I was in college, but I lost my copy. I also remember responding to my friend’s poem with a mixed media project I made for my Humanities 2 class. As I re-read it now, I remember the changes I have been through. It seems I have grown up, but only a little. The person described in his poem still remains a big part of who I am today.

Title: Assorted Shades of Grief

(it was later retitled as The Fourteenth Shade of Grey)

i saw you weeping today; you

who we thought to

be a god, anointed and

exempt from bereavement and tears.

your sobs aren’t hoarse—they come

in random successions, crisp and jubilant

like muffled giggles in a room littered with

crucifixes

and childhood

fears.

you seem to have forgotten

where you hid your wings.

consumed by grief, your tender hands

stood by the river, waving their frail fingers.

while the screen [strewn with vacant words] blinked

reminding us of the dullness

that befell our nights.

i dare not distort your anguish; my voice is void.

i see my shadow in your eyes: a husk in search

of suitable phrases;

looking for excuses to fill the yawning gaps between

the madness

we are trying to escape.

-rmg.19.01.01

No related posts.