premonition

an old one I found loose and wandering

The first time I saw Death

it was a sunset

blazing red in the sky.

Six years old and I stood

my insides knotted

and my stomach

dropped

quick like a tree

struck by the summer storm.

I thought

this must be what it’s like

to ride a roller coaster.

I could not turn away

from that blood-red

fire in the sky.

Somewhere,

up the road a mile or so,

a drunk driver

collided with a tractor.

Sirens wailed.

Children lost a father.

And I felt guilty

for knowing.

Reviews

[therisa]

Often wonder, if my knowing about my dad's heart attack, was a premonition or my ability to read my mom and the neighbour that accompanied her, when picking up at the airport, in July 1985. I was kept in the dark about the heart attack, until I said, in a calm voice that, "dad had a heart attack". Or the time, I told my dad, that Oma had cancer, a month before her death, in 1996.

[Emily B]

you knew, of course you did, no one had to tell you

[h d e rushin]

some things are better off not witnessed or understood like contents and additives, or carcinogens, possible
side effects and eyewitness to events. drink a small glass of nightquill, then sit on the side of the bed
and read the possible side effects. Hell, its a wonder that anyone ever gets well in this country.
i have friends who follow ambulances and fire trucks, which is more non-spontaneous than profane.

i went to a funeral this past saturday, and as usual, refused to view the body. in the possible case
of some reincarnation, I don't want to be the first or last person he sees.....
your a fab story teller.

dana

[Corset]

I have to admit, there are times when I am happy to only be accidental. This helps me understand a bit more, it's beautiful of course, but it's also comforting in a way.

[Emily B]

it would be many years before i understood, or even had names for the things that frightened me

[Corset]

can only imagine who frightening that must have been for a child especially when you aren't able to articulate well what you are seeing.

[Corset]

how frightening

[Emily B]

it was about the same time that i had my first visit from someone who had died :)

my parents thought i was too young to go to the funeral, so she came to me

[Corset]

Did you try to tell anyone? Did they believe you?

[Emily B]

I was six. There weren't any shows about ghost hunters way back then. My mother knew our house was haunted but never mentioned it until I was an adult. I was very much alone in a world I didn't have words to explain. It's taken several years to find the courage to talk about these things even now. In my ages of writing there is a phrase about getting taller. It isn't about breaking the six foot range but being more honest about who and what I am.

[Corset]

You are ten steps ahead of us if you even know who and what you are, I am stil as lost about that as I was at 6, 16, 26, 36, yada...life is confusing as hell even still, and honesty equals beauty in my humble opinion, is not always pretty, or what I wanna hear, but it's a code to live by, if it's all on the table then we can make informed choices and live with them :)

[Emily B]

it's taken years to work toward being taller, by which i always meant more honest, more myself

[Corset]

Some of the most tallest people I have ever met, have met me at eye level...I'm 5'3'' ;)

[Emily B]

that sounds about right! yes

[Corset]

lol

[WhiteWillow]

I love everything about this piece: the title, the vivid colors and imagery, the simple style its written in. I enjoy your work immensely.

[SkinlessFrank]

The desolation in this image, a powerful reminder of our first brush with mortality, beautifully sickening and uprooting.

[Brandon S. Whitten]

We share a common thread, you and I. Love this poem.

[J.M.B]

Very good, very, very good!

[...]

. very few can read the universe ...
. and it is an unbearable burden ...
. superbly written and expressed ...

[The Analog Kid]

Death is something we try to insulate ourselves from.