stages

women's stages of life

mom...wife...woman...girl...child

 

 

the stages of this life

cannot be separated

 

they are bound to one another

by scar tissue

ugly malformed worms of flesh

that wrap and glue one

to the other

eternally

 

like rice paper, fragile

and transparent

you can see all the way

through

like a clear koi pond

 

look all the way back to the girl

do you see her?

she is so naïve

her round and chubby freckled face

her absolutely trusting green eyes accepting everything

she is told.

 

don’t you wish we could warn her?

it is all i can do to keep from screaming

at the sight of her.

 

run away, little girl

the next stage will hurt so much more

the heart breaks multiple times

and it never gets repaired.

 

i stand here and i know.

i have been carrying the pieces

for decades

hoping that someday, when we reached

this desolate wind-whipped edge of the world

we could put the heart back together

you and i

 

will you believe me?

will you know me?

how i have disappointed you!

how i wish i had made the magic work!

 

look at her.

she still smiles.

 

 

Reviews

[BrownEyedWriter]

One can think of so many interpretations of this one. It could be a mother contemplating about her daughter's life, an older woman, ruminating on a young girl's (she has perhaps met her on the elevator) future - the pains and dead ends that make up adulthood, or it could be a woman in her old age reminiscing about her own life, about the naivety and innocence of her unsuspecting young self. She sees a picture of herself as a young girl, and these words she addresses to that image. Whichever reading one accepts, I think this is a brilliant poem. :) i'd love to read more of your works here.

[annie lee]

Thank you very much. It is indeed a poem of multiple interpretations. I will be pleased to see you reading my work.

[Karen]

I love the imagery at the beginning of the poem (scar tissue, worms of flesh, rice paper, koi pond). It is so vivid and the metaphor is incredible! As the poem progresses it becomes more reflective and more universal for the plights of women and their evolution from child to womanhood, one filled with pain and heartbreak. Beautiful poem!!

[annie lee]

Thanks. This is an important poem to me. I've been looking back trying to discern my wrong turns -- and come to peace with them.

[Karen]

Sometimes wrong turns lead you to a different place. It may not be the place you had initially intended, but it becomes part of your journey nonetheless. And the best part is to indeed to come to peace with your journey. Thank you again for sharing such an intimate poem.

[Angi]

All the regret just pours off the page here. That little girl wasn't so sad, was she? Her smile is there, even if it trembles. We cannot go back. Always moving forward, whether we drag our feet or march. We move forward. Angi~

[Pryde Foltz]

will you believe me?
will you know me?
how i have disappointed you!
how i wish i had made the magic work!

look at her.
she still smiles.

Yes, I, too, have conversations with that little girl who had yet not come to know turmoil, pain and disappointment. In me, and you I think, she still lives, just looking for the right person to coax her out. A very lovely and winsome write. Very happy I read.

[annie lee]

Thanks so much.

[rhythm&blues]

Outstanding read, and so relatable. Nice work.

I do love your insight, into psychology, and the art of learning through the ages, getting older and younger again in a lifetime, is pretty brilliant, (or so I think). This was exceptional, you paint all facets, of alzheimer, plus the facts how to edge the real corners of this, and how it goes in life, dealing with this in general. Very good work. I enjoyed being in your brain for a while.

- Elisa

[Jason Katz]

Wow. when one is writing a timeline of sorts, it is easy to get stuck up on details. But that is not the case here. There is a sense of mystery about the woman, (whether it is you, the author, or someone else, I am not sure). You omit needless details, and your story is all the better for it. Bravo. Well done. This piece is masterfully crafted, and I will be sure to check out your other work.

[Sami Khalil]

A fantastic write on the stages of womanhood and how hard it is to separate things which is a natural progression of things in life . Thank you for sharing...:)