The Kiss of His Memory
It was the time for sitting on porches
beside the road.
The people all saw her come because
it was sundown.
It was the time to hear things and talk.
Of course he wasn’t dead.
The sun was gone but he had left
his footprints in the sky.
So, the beginning of this was a woman.
And she had come back from burying
the dead.
She stood there until something fell off
the shelf inside her.
He could never be dead until she herself
had finished feeling and thinking.
Here was Peace.
cento poem assembled by Julie
Written here today in response to this week’s prompt on the We Write Poems website: Finding Pearls.
My newest Cento poem is from the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
Welcome, Julie! Well done.
Thanks for the welcome and my first comment ‘Miss Purple” This is fun!
She stood there until something fell off
the shelf inside her.
He could never be dead until she herself
had finished feeling and thinking.
I loved these ones!! Sounds like a great book and you did well with forming this!
Thanks, Hannah. That first sentence up there stopped me in my tracks when I read it ’cause it rang so true for me. It wasn’t difficult to quilt together a poem from her prose as it is already so poetic. Look her up sometime and I think you would agree.
It’s been many years since I’ve read that particular book, but I think you made a great choice. I, too, love the imagery of “She stood there until something fell off / the shelf inside her.” It makes you wonder what shelves we all carry around within ourselves.
Richard
How true! It was a pure moment of great realization for me when I first read that line in her novel because what fell off her shelf was exactly what was sitting on mine. Thanks, Richard for the kind words.
Shelves, closets, chests full of memories and emotions. My personal experiences with the loss of loved ones…I keep them alive when I remember them. I haven’t read this book yet but I like the way you put this together:
The sun was gone but he had left
his footprints in the sky.
I offer:
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/06/wwp-109-pearly.html
Thanks, Jules… Don’t know if that’s your first name or a nickname but we have the name in common. My mother named me Julie and I’ve always liked the name but in recent years many have taken to calling me Jules …. and I find the condensed version very affectionate and loving. Take a peek at this book as it is quite a wonder. Her prose is pure poetry… which is why it wasn’t difficult to weave together a cento poem.