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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Me... with the memory of you

I dreamt about you again last night.
One of those strange visions that felt like a memory
but wasn’t. 

You and I were in a museum,
looking at the bones of history
and stumbling through the passages of silence. 

I had my coat tucked under my arms; your hand was in your pocket. 
I lingered at the placard,
hesitating to move on
hoping that you might brush my sleeve as you passed. 

When I looked up you were gone
and I tiptoed through the glass display cases
searching for you.

Room through room I chased you. 
Your presence wafted behind
like the scent of fresh rain
in the arid day. 

But all I found were the faces of strangers
and monsters’ remains. 

I discovered you in the gift shop,
amongst the toys and kitsch. 
You’d stumbled upon an old friend
who was going to take you away from me. 

I was jealous.
I always was. 

But all I could do was stand there looking stupid,
and watch you walk away. 

As you stepped out into the daylight
the glass doors caught your shape. 
I thought I saw you holding something in your hands…

and I watched another moment of chance fade away.

I awoke
feeling unsettled and spent.
Your ghost still haunting my conscious thoughts.

Like always, it seems:

Me...
with the memory of you.

25 comments:

  1. loved the stanza of among the toys & kitsch of the gift shop, something important was taken away from her

    marc nash

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  2. Love where this went, with the hint of tragedy at the end.

    "Looking at the bones of history"... great line!

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    1. Thanks, Catherine! And thanks for the retweet!

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  3. Brand new follower here, just stopping by as an A to Z Challenge Co-Host, so: nice to meet you, Beverly!

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    1. Nice to meet you,too, Matt! Thank you for stopping by- i'm so excited for the upcoming challenge and the prospect of meeting so many cool new people!

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  4. It worked! Loved the symbolism in this. It seems to center around the two-line stanza: "I was jealous / I always was."

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    1. Thanks, Larry! I'm so glad it seems to be working, and that you cuaght that.

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  5. I posted using the wrong Google account! Some beautiful language in this one.

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    1. Thanks, Icy! And if I had a nickel for every time something went wrong when trying to comment, sheesh!

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  6. Excellent tale of longing and remorse. Nicely done!

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    1. Thank you Eric! And great job on your piece today!

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  7. I enjoyed this quite a bit. The phrasing and pace work every well, and the poignancy of the dream a perfect reflection of the reality of the situation.
    ~jon

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    1. Thanks Jon! And I have to say, again- your piece today was just amazing!

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  8. SO good to see you again, lady! I'm glad you took the chance with this. It's the sort of poem that needs to be mulled over and digested. Or used in English class as proof of how and why poetry is cool. Or both.

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    1. Susan, your comments make me absurdly giddy every single time you post one! I love your enthusiasm.

      And I loved your piece today, as well. You rock!

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  9. Hi Beverly -- so many details packed into this breathtaking poem - how their hands are tucked away from one another and the bones of history in the museum and that chase that begins with the drifting away in the museum and becomes bigger by the end of the visit. Beautiful work!

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  10. The central conceit is exquisitely curated, to be sure, as well as the supporting exhibits. I liked the direct language style -- almost set out as a procedural.

    I also liked how although it's about lost love, there seems to be an awareness that the loss is stronger than the sense of love from the lost one ever was.

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    1. Thank you, Katherine! And that's exactly what I was trying to convey- the loss being bigger than the love.

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  11. I loved this. I read it allowed to get the full feel of it. I liked how in essence it was about love tinged with jealousy.

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    1. Thank you, Helen! I'm glad that the reading out loud worked so well!

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  12. Lovely pace Beverlay and some heart felt emotions too - Great piece

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  13. I liked that it told an entire story, and revealed so much about the narrator's emotions. A lovely blend of poetry and prose.

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Thank you for your comment! I will love it and hug it and pet it and call it George. Or, you know, just read and reply to it. But still- you rock!