STILL LIFE
Life may be art, but
it’s still life. Don’t brush it off,
and don’t hang it up.
© Marie Elena Good, 2018
pictured words
a simple pairing of pictures and poetry
Tag: Life
December 2, 2018
November 18, 2018
HOLIDAY BLESSINGS ON PARADE
Oh the feasts that we would eat –
Grandma’s stuffing can’t be beat!
Turkey carved and on display,
Guesses on “what does it weigh?”
Yams and hams and pumpkin pies,
And (to figures’ great demise}
Aunt Peg’s “Goop,” and Mom’s cheesecake.
Hopeful leftovers to take!
TV playing football games,
Watched by mostly men named James.
Conversations, hugs, and laughs.
Later-treasured photographs.
© Marie Elena Good, 2018
P.S. Once-upon-a-time, there were so many men/boys named James in our family, it became a running joke. Grandpa, 2 uncles, Dad, and two cousins (one nicknamed Punk)! 😀
October 25, 2018
UNMASK
There’s only one way
To know ourselves and others:
Eliminate masks.
© Marie Elena Good, 2018
FOR POETIC BLOOMINGS AUTUMNAL POEM-A-DAY CHAPBOOK CHALLENGE, 2018, DAY 12: COSTUME
September 23, 2018
LOCKED
“Pandora’s Box” prompt and photo, provided by Walter Wojtanik of Poetic Bloomings
Out of fear
(or worse — indifference)
she waited too long
to unlock the trunk she daily
(habitually)
avoided. Tripped over. Pretended wasn’t there.
Summoning the courage, she unlocked it.
Discovered a long-lost page.
Dulled. Faded. Not easily read.
Less easily understood.
For times had changed,
and, therefore,
the truths that had shaped them.
Right?
As she tried to examine
and understand,
she began to question
everything.
Perhaps wrong paths had been taken.
Destructive habits had formed.
Perhaps what was true, then,
was no less true, now.
Perhaps times change,
but truths remain.
Perhaps it was up to her
to unlock
release
embrace.
© Marie Elena Good, 2018
September 10, 2018
A CORD OF THREE STRANDS
They began, young.
Lovely and in love
Healthy and hopeful
Playful and promising
To have and to hold
From this day
Forward, fast
Furiously fading
As Alzheimer’s attempts
To dilute and damage
Life and love
Strongly seduced.
Still,
Promise prevailed.
“All my love, and love me always”
In illness and health,
Held by God’s hands
And the cord of three strands,
Stands
Against all
Ashes to ashes
Forever co-mingled
In the perpetual presence
Of the One who,
Singly, and synchronously,
Breathed life
And an always love.
© Marie Elena Good, 2018
“And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” ~ Ecclesiastes 4:12
Forever my love to Mom and Dad, now eternally at rest, in the presence of the One.
September 2, 2018
TIME IS OF THE ES-SCENTS
Too much time to toil
smells like coffee break.
Too much time to broil
stinks of ruined steak.
Too much time spent mowing
smells of outside, in.
Too much time spent crowing
reeks of haughty din.
Time spent giving speeches
hints of stage-fright sweat.
Time spent strolling beaches?
Stale outlook reset.
Wasted time on druthers
leaves stench day-to-day.
Time spent loving others
breathes in sweet bouquet.
© Marie Elena Good
August 29, 2018
LISTEN TO HEAR
Agreement is not crucial.
Kindness is.
Divergence is not futile.
Blindness is.
In one way or another,
We should learn
To hear our diverse brothers –
Not to spurn.
© Marie Elena Good
August 12, 2018
As I Near My Autumn Days
As I near my autumn days,
I think of all I have not experienced.
No trips abroad.
No vacation home.
No award-winning book.
No fame.
No second-glance beauty.
I think of all I have not experienced.
Yet, let the autumn leaves summon,
For I am content to sit side-by-side,
In dappled sunlight or soaking rain.
(c) Marie Elena Good, 2012
August 8, 2018
Clay, With Humid Incubus
Caring for the yard is hard
when clay sits atop
once-upon-a-swamp
and damp drains down
heavy on your skin,
and feels like breathing soup
as you heave your weight atop a spade
to dislodge one weed from clay.
Repeat, all day.
© Marie Elena Good, 2018
August 1, 2018
GRIEF
Grief is a peculiar beast,
prowling when
and where
and how we least expect –
often at inopportune moments
when there is no fitting release
and nothing to do but cram it down,
thinking it will recede
and let us be,
but no
it lingers about,
then slinks in
at the next inopportune moment ,
chafing,
never ending,
like a run-on thought
or a spinning yarn
with no end in sight
and no
… funny,
how relief,
though brief,
comes conversely
through
tears,
and laughter.
© Marie Elena Good, 2018
