09 January 2013

From these broken pieces

More years than I can count have passed since I first read Leaflets by Adrienne Rich.  I have never forgotten her line I am thinking how we can use what we have to invent what we need.


to use what I had
but all was broken pieces
what good can be found
in shards?
sharp, jagged
waiting for a touch to bleed

a pile of shattered building blocks
my hands could not connect
appeared as ashes
to eyes that had lost imagination

blink once, twice
search to see
colour, beauty
in the mess
promises of reconstruction

allow the truth
that every breath is
creation
poetry
prayer

Walking with Emily and the broken yet redeemed
 

8 comments:

Brian Miller said...

beauty in the mess...arent we all....taken and remake into something wonderful...grins....nice...

Brandee Shafer said...

Things (and people) are most perfect, I think, when they aren't.

Mommy Emily said...

blink once, twice
search to see
colour, beauty
in the mess
promises of reconstruction

i smiled when i read these words. they made my soul soar. love you friend.

Elizabeth Dianne said...

There you go flickering again and this was really bright and shiny--

Anonymous said...

I love each line each word each beat of the heart of this. What beauty. This sings to me so sweetly. Yes, the taking what we have been given and transforming it into just what we "need". Perfect.

Anonymous said...

WOW!I have not visited your site before (visiting from imperfect prose). Your words are astoundingly beautiful. So glad I dropped by.

Brother Ollie said...

dig it - a beautiful poem - love the poem as prayer concept

Kati Woronka said...

this reminds me of a Syrian girl I met who was living in Istanbul, unable to return home because of the fighting. In Syria she was an artist with her own studio, and in Turkey she was starting over. She had gone out on the streets and seen how many discarded and broken glass bottles littered the beautiful city of Istanbul. She started collecting them and fiddling with them and created a gorgeous collection of drinking glasses, votive candle holders, jars, etc. From discarded glass.