Swept

My love was a dreamer, an artist,

a magical being, my whole world.

He was handsome, one of the smartest,

my constant compass and heart impearled.

He saw beauty where none existed,

folded flowers out of paper squares,

made me smile when I feign resisted,

and the envy of desirous stares.

 

He was greater than I imagined

but so humble like a parish priest;

and he exemplified compassion,

preferring to be among the least.

He was funny, vivacious, and loud.

His laughter was sunlight in the room,

and his touch lifted me like a cloud.

He gave my petals the faith to bloom.

 

He left me for want of the morning,

for rippling water, and eastern sky,

was swept by the tide without warning.

O!  Dear God!  Without him, who am I?

My world crumbled into hapless heaps.

My spine buckled beneath grievous weight.

Tangled time’s inconsolable leaps

are like wicked hands that suffocate.

 

I covered myself in his shadow,

hid what was left of me in a shell.

I held onto … well … I do not know.

It was a torturous kind of hell!

I pocket my past in poetry

until pen runs dry or heart expires.

These are the glimpses that none can see,

the ashes of life that once were fires.

 

Hold onto your love once you find it.

Time is a thread that will unravel.

Be swept by its waves and unbind it.

Love is fickle, and it will travel.

The veil is torn; my eyes are laid waste.

The blue shroud of truth is born of rain.

The salt of the earth has lost its taste,

and my blood runs cold within each vein.

Author's Note

IN MEMORY OF DŨNG TIẾN NGUYỄN.

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Wow, just wow! And BRAVO! This was so fantastically moving and powerful; the love just rushing forth like a volcanic explosion or the rush of a waterfall leaping downward into a waiting abyss. The sadness and longing were overshadowed for me by the force of the love; the binding strength that refuses to be extinguished, even by death. How wonderful to love with such passion, with such compassion and honesty and tenderness. How much more wonderful to have been loved by such! This is what makes life worthwhile; that if by chance we can find such a love in our lives to treasure and share, even for a brief moment in time. The flower blooms and dies but its transient beauty doesn't make it any the less beautiful! If anything, perhaps it adds to the precious quality of life. Frost wrote, "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Nothing beautiful may either, nothing wonderful or awe inspiring. Perhaps we are all just drops of dew on gossamer threads of silk spun by the spider of eternity. We reflect what we can of the world around us until the sun evaporates our very being. If someone sees us, truly sees us in the dawn and we are remembered though, maybe we somehow live on. I don't know or lay any special claim to the solution of such mysteries. I do know that this is both eloquent and beautiful. I greatly enjoyed!

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Fabian, for such a thoughtful and meaningful review. I really appreciate the feedback.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This was a great pleasure to read! It's as good as anything I've ever read by any poet. It's the honesty that drives it. And it hits like a hammer. Just great stuff!

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you again. That's high praise indeed coming from you.

[andrew mitchell]

A lovely write on how delicate and friable love and life is. There was an honesty and rawness feel through out.

[Ballpark Frank]

This is breathtaking. Wow. Your skill humbles me.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

You are the one who humbles me. Thank you.

[Ballpark Frank]

Thank you for your kindness and encouragement. I've actually been reading your fine writing for many years now.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Awww! Thank you, Frankie. :)

[Dan in TSC]

A beautiful picture in words. I see this figure and feel the measure of him. To have loved deeply is a powerful weight, one that can indeed buckle the spine or one that can shout and shine that it was. With this poem I can feel and share that weight. Yet I hope and believe there is a place for both one's life. Thank you for sharing.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Dan.

[Ken e Bujold]

a powerful write Linda. Melancholy, yet not saccharine sweet or gooey. a brave honesty is what I am looking for. lines like pocket my poetry in my past and be swept by its waves and unbind it are top drawer images. Very much enjoyed the read

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Ken. I appreciate your insightfulness.

[Ken Simm.]

Such a wonderful if meancholy piece. Beautifully written and lovely structure.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Ken. It's always a pleasure to see you.

[Mauricio Montoya]

Man sister this is sad, you made me think of Poe, Annabelle and just as good.
Thank you for sharing

[Mauricio Montoya]

Annabelle Lee

[AYVID N]

'He gave my petals the faith to bloom.' ~I am swept away in the beauty of this love. A love that was beautiful, compassionate and so uplifting. No wonder, the loss felt so crushing, so debilitating. At the same time I wondered why love does not stay always. Why are beautiful things fleeting in nature? And it is just this transient quality of love that brings about the pain you so amazingly express in the concluding lines of this poem. Your pen posseses an untouched, unearthly kind of beauty as if it draws its ink from wells in the most divine parts of your soul. All of it is enhanced by your sheer skill with rhyme, flow and superb word choices. This is poetry to treasure and revist always for inspiration.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Divya.

[W. Barrett Munn]

A lot of emotions presented in this work, hopefully imaginative rather than lived.

Powerful stuff.

Winston

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Winston. Unfortunately, no, this was a reality for me. Truth is always better for writing than fiction.