Saturday, February 13, 2010

glassine

walkingspanish

how much
of what
we see
in a photo
is obscured?
all the action
blurred
or stopped
before
the click
of the shutter.
how much
more can
i tell
about
the photo
when
i pull it
out
of this
withered
glassine sleeve?

a snowy pathway. my mother.

this past
year
i feel
like i
have gotten
closer
to my father.
we are very
different
he and i.
and have often
fought
like
cats
over
territory.
but this
year
something happened
and i
let go a little
(so did he).
listened a little.
(so did he).
had a little less to prove.
(so did he).

he didn't get
along
with his own dad.
he won't admit that
now but
my mother tells me
this to be true.
i told him
i don't want
to be
sentimental
about him
when he's gone.
i want to
appreciate
him
now.
i am getting
a little better
at that.

we
are still
so different.

i sent him
a poem
that
i loved

and he said,
billy collins
leaves me completely
cold.


that made me
sad,
a bit.

then he
send me
this poem:

Why the Dinosaurs Died

No one
taught them to say
"Thank you"
or
"Excuse me"
or
"I'm sorry"

Their endless rudeness,
their ignorance of basic manners,
created infinite feuds.

Finally no
one was speaking
to anyone else.

They died of loneliness.



—Linda D. Addison

and
this poem too...

and
i realized
that
we weren't
as different
as i thought.
with
or
without
the glassine sleeve.

thanks
for listening.

winter light

xo

7 comments:

shari said...

your posts are always so thoughtful. it's lovely that you and your father exchange poetry. xo

emily said...

gwen, that's beautiful.

Monna said...

I love that you said you'd rather appreciate your dad now than feel sentimental about him when he's gone. This is a courageous and inspirational journey you and your father are taking together. Thanks for sharing the poetry; the lonely dinosaurs broke my heart open.

alexandria said...

This is very tender and wonderfully said as well as put together.

Kerstin Svendsen said...

love the difference of the same photo. and this post, wow. it's just right. oh, fathers...

lisa solomon said...

touching.
i'm so happy to read that you and your dad are appreciating one another a bit more. it's lovely that you send one another poems....

and glassine is a lovely metaphor

gracia said...

'and
i realized
that
we weren't
as different
as i thought.
with
or
without
the glassine sleeve.'
So true of so many different relationships but hard to realise at times. Very. Especially where one's family is concerned, I expect.

g xo