Slipping

i dig deeper

pictures of you
archived in my mind
blur on recall

i find twenty eight years
have taken a toll
your image not as defined
nor clear as it once was

colours fade into greys
i long for the return of minutia
to turn back the clock
i want to take the lid off
death's parting shot

i want to see breath in you
the rise and fall of your chest
see those microscopic beads
of perspiration clinging
to your forehead's flesh

blue laughter in your eyes
that wide streak of silver white
that complements
your short back and sides

this early morning
I will tarry for a while
I will wade through the mists
to recapture the you I knew
in high definition

Reviews

[Beccy]

It only slips; never disappears completely; if it did, we would become a different species entirely.
'
I want to see breath in you
the rise and fall of your chest
see those microscopic beads
of perspiration clinging
to your forehead's flesh.'

A transfixing verse in a truly moving poem.

Beccy.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thank yous Beccy for your thoughtful review. So appreciate your calling in.

Chris

[Crosby Idasa]

Nice poem... This goes to someone very special, maybe the person is not there anymore but your heart still cares

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Crosby for your thoughtful review.

Chris

[Crosby Idasa]

You are welcome my friend

[Jimmy Yetts]

Time certainly blurs mental images; departed loved ones eventually become more
sad emotions or collections of heartwarming stories than clearly recalled pictorials.
It is, indeed, tragic how Death so grimly reaps our beloved dead.
Work that wrenches the heart, poetess!

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks Jimmy for your thoughts here. Appreciating your many visits.

Chris

[kathy rivers]

omg..i know exactly how you feel...that haunting image you just can't get a grasp on...lingering in the back of your thoughts... so close and yet so far...
i spent my whole life in foster care until i was 8 years old and got adopted by a wonderful family who loves me. the faces i can no longer remember are my brother jeremy who helped care for me when we were together in our first foster home and the face of the mother who gave birth to me...

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Kathy. How difficult it must be for you when you find your mind drifting to your brother Jeremy and your birth Mum. Trying to remember faces which have faded with the passing of time. I am so pleased you have wonderful adoptive parents who love you. I can see how my lines resonated with your situation.

Chris

[kathy rivers]

no problem..your poem really spoke to me and i wanted you to know.

[Chris Shaw]

Then I thank you again :)

[kathy rivers]

your quite welcome.

[Relic]

There were several people in my life I could relate this to. Death sucks.

A moving poem, Chris.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Tim. I appreciate your visit and your thoughts. All good wishes.

Chris

[John Alexander McFadyen]

A sad poem from you Chris as you reflect on someone loved. A parent I guess. It happens to us all as time passes and photographs I find are a god send. Even so a good poem filled with compassionate emotion.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you John. Yes thank goodness for photographs. This poem was about my Dad. Appreciate your visit.

Chris

[Ted Kniffen]

Thanks to Samuel I have discovered this one. I must have missed it the first time. Glad I caught it though. It is more difficult as the years go by to see the face clearly. Thankfully we have old photos...almost always black and white...but at least not blurry.
I have a favourite of my Dad in his uniform just after returning home from the war. In it he is young and smiling, happy to be home. He passed 55 yrs ago this Halloween and every now and then I can hear his voice or one of his corny jokes.

Thank you for taking me back, Chris, ...it was a good day for it.

[Chris Shaw]

So pleased Ted for your visit and that today was a good day for it. That's a lot of years that have passed since you lost your Dad. Lovely that he survived the war and you have a beautiful photograph of him in full uniform.

Chris

[Samuel Dickens]

This made me think of my parents--Mother, 46 years gone, Father, 20. A sister and brother, also. I can still hear their voices and see their smiles. This sensitive and well-worded poem tells me the many ways our loved ones may be missed.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Samuel for your review. I hear them and see smiles too, but have to dig deeper into my memory to recall features. All good wishes a d thank you for your visit.

Chris

[CD Campbell]

It seems all things fall by the way with time. I hate it. It's so painful at times I just have to laugh at the futility of it all. Almost all of my male mentors have passed, and the memories of them are fading. When a recollection of them comes, nowadays, I hold tight, but it bleeds out of me from the onslaught of responsibility. This is truly a wonderful, heartfelt poem that has me thinking. I thank you for that. Have a good day, Christine. CD

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks CD. Your visit is much appreciated, as is your understanding of these lines. All good wishes.

Chris

[Kay Salisu Titilola]

Day by day memory seems to be fading,
Like it's loosing its contents, though seems intact.
Mind escape things,
Past evades thought,
Feeling dies little by little,
When fueler is out of focus.
But sometimes it's impressive,
To bring back a memory from the far past behind.

Well written, Chris.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Kay for considering my lines. Much appreciated. All good wishes.

Chris

[rubie]

It is so strange...the tricks our memories play on us. When I try to recall loved ones who have passed, I see them in my mind's eye in a state of perfection, not in a state of pain or suffering. Wonderful piece.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Rubie. I often do as well if they have died recently, but with this piece, after 28 years my Dad's features are slipping from me and I have to dig deep for the detail. I appreciate your review.

Chris