TRIBUTE

04 28 14

No way for her to ascertain
the ashen carpets of erasure
randomly assigned to the tapestry of garish
hope's circumstantial hopscotch squares
with a body already incommodiously perched
upon legs submissive to the here and now's
drunken mercury
Alone she has been left to sweep up
the gravity that hobbles optimism
in the hops of faith around the ambivalence
of horizontal authenticity
Left alone to weep on twitching roots
and theorize a rally bloom in spite
of severance in tune with sparks of closure
The shadow of her sunken chin emits
embroiled tributaries of respawning yesterdays
Queen of checkerboard embodiment
her rhythmic rule entails zephyrs of endurance
in the vacuum of fulfilling prophecies

Author's Note

She's been through so much...

Reviews

[Eric Pudalov]

This is a wonderfully tragic and sad piece, Steve. Though I know not the woman of whom you speak, it doesn't really matter. This seems a very touching tribute to a friend who is suffering untold misfortune in her life (am I wrong?). And I also get the sense that all of these circumstances are beyond her control, in verses like this:

randomly assigned to the tapestry of garish
hope's circumstantial hopscotch squares
with a body already incommodiously perched
upon legs submissive to the here and now's
drunken mercury

She sounds like an extremely vulnerable person, placed into circumstances that she isn't prepared to handle, and something that would almost kill her if she just took a step further. What a sad and horrifying story. No one deserves that, I would think!

Though I obviously haven't read *all* of your work (assuming you have a large unpublished volume), I find that all of what I've read so far has so much depth, symbolism, and a multitude of meanings. I feel this urge, sometimes, to want to decipher everything that you've written out, but that's probably impossible. It's the analytical academic in me.

100/100, by the way!

[kublakhan27]

You've hit the nail on the head perfectly my friend...you may know her, I'm sure you've seen her on the site in the past...she's one of our most beloved members but has been away for a while as she deals with some serious personal issues. She is vulnerable only in the sense that she's been dealt some circumstances that are beyond her control, but she also happens to be the strongest woman I've ever known, and I tried to inject a bit of optimism in the piece to reflect that. As always, I must point out how invaluable your support is to my writing...it really does mean the world. So glad you enjoyed this one my friend :)

[Eric Pudalov]

Aww, glad I can help support your writing - that's the other reason I like being here, other than promoting my own writing. And now that you mention it, I think I *do* know to whom you're referring...I won't say her name, but I hope she'll be OK. I want to be supportive too, if I can.

[A. Amos]

Great work and elegant way of paying tribute...

[kublakhan27]

So glad you enjoyed it, thank you Amos.

[Lyn Anderson]

What a beautiful poem. I will not make a guess, as you have not revealed the subject.

[kublakhan27]

I'm glad you enjoyed it K...it's for a dear friend, one you know as well.

[Lyn Anderson]

Ifigured as much

[Ghost of Jupiter]

Wow, this is another masterpiece... My heart sunk into each line. You always seem to spin these webs of words that catch the reader and inwrap them into your vision. This one here resonates in my soul. Loved it... wonderful write!

[kublakhan27]

You humble me with your kind words my friend...thank you so much :)