‘This is not a funeral,’ she said,
‘though I’m drowning in carnations.’
There are no condolence cards
or whiskey toasts
to memory,
only the sad nod of head
as a story becomes too familiar to all
and an end that happened long ago
becomes the final chapter
in a story that was told
with only one voice.
:
©SirenSong1208 ~ 2018
Photograph taken from Pinterest, unsourced
And like a wave born of a swell
Another year is upon us
Racing in to the shore
Pulling the remnants of the previous year away
To memory
We bid farewell to the old year
A time of growth and awareness
Joy and loss
A new year beckons
With the promises a new day brings
The tides turning
Presenting new opportunities
And possibilities
That we should grasp
With both hands
Before they slip away
With the tides…
:
©SirenSong1208
Watercolour art by Lia Melia
*May I extend my best wishes for a happy and healthy 2018 to all of you who find the time to read my words, who are generous with support and comments, who I am privileged to call friends. Happy New Year!
All along the undertow
I fought for breath
Every tug upon my senses
Pulling me back
Into your tide
The current strong
As strong as my will
My lungs filling
With the taste of memory
Burning with need
Until I surrendered
My thoughts
Struggling no more
Finding freedom
In the embrace
Of your waves
:
©SirenSong1208 ~ 2017
“Siren’s last breath”
Photographer Steven Kowalski; Model Lauren Roth
I find you
betwixt and between my thoughts,
a marker in a book I wish to remember.
My eyes
lingering upon our page
as murmurs,
sweet upon my tongue,
become an invocation
of memory
without fail.
:
©SirenSong1208 ~ 2017
Photograph taken from Pinterest
I remember days of such closeness,
when I could talk to you about anything.
You were my best friend.
The one I could trust above all others.
You always told it to me straight,
never mincing words,
but always being kind.
The message was always delivered
with love.
You always knew,
even without me saying,
when something was wrong.
As I got older I kept my troubles to myself,
telling you only after the fact,
never wishing you to worry.
But now when I need your words most,
when I need the comfort that only a mother can bring,
you are drifting away from me,
your memory fading
your grasp on the here and now
adrift
and no matter how fast or hard I paddle
I cannot get any closer to you.
The fog is settling upon the water
and you are disappearing from view.
:
©SirenSong1208
Photograph taken from Pinterest
I wish to be on a board in the sun.
The swells of the sea undulating beneath my open thighs
As I scan the horizon
It’s peaceful
And yet exhilarating
My memory is strong
Three summers gone
The board is long
And unwieldy
As I am not used to its length
Or weight
It was purple and white
I recall an intense feeling of excitement
Building within
One for the bucket list
A girl of the sea
I had always been
But had never taken the plunge
And ridden the waves before
At least
Not on my feet
The adrenaline that I feel
Being tossed and turned by
The ocean’s current
Should frighten me
Make me more cautious
But I’m addicted to that high
The way it makes me feel
Invincible
When I emerge from the surf
Smiling
And breathless
But balancing upon fiberglass
And the power of the sea
That was a new test
As with everything new
I was focused
As well as thrilled and nervous
But I was all in
And all in it turned out to be
I’d ride the waves to the shoreline
Flying off into the water
Before I made land
Laughing and paddling out to try once more
Except for that last time…
Like every other attempt
I caught the swell
And rode the wave to shore
But that final time it came faster
The surging current swiftly moving inland
Like a bullet train
And I was caught off guard
My board hit the sand
Flinging me off
Pitching me face first into the sand
A horrifying sight I’m sure
To those sitting there
I managed to stand up
Sand in my mouth
And my head ringing from the impact
Not realizing the damage I had done
The wounds caused
And just how lucky I had been
But despite the danger
Despite what happened
The lure to ride those waves again
Tugs at me
As the ocean does to the shore
:
*Continuing with my (apparent) aquatic theme, this is not new but from two summers past. And the lure still tugs at me.
©SirenSong1208
Photo taken from Pinterest
It was a moment suspended in time,
one she returned to again and again.
As brilliant as the brightest star
shining in her midnight sky,
it became an amaranthine memory,
neither waxing nor waning
as the moon
but perpetual as the ocean’s tides.
Her fingers traced its outline
reminiscing,
the heat captured within
warming her
still
its colours remaining true
through time.
#AprilFalls
:
©SirenSong1208
Image taken from Beautymothernature.tumblr
