Witch today?
Witch today or
Mother/ smother
Hug or shrug
Monkey grip and velcro tight
Or glue unstuck
Hanging dangerously dangling
Unattached
Which today the kiss
Or hiss, pinch and poke
Or josh and joke together mother
Joined and bonded each to other
Love not lost nor lone nor longing
Best beloved dote and dearest
Safe the circle of embrace
Or love conditional, meagre rations
Needing pleading all unheeded
Bonding glueing not adhering
Dropped and damaged
For a lifetime
Unattached
23rd March 2010, Kemp St, Brighton
Ouch!
ReplyDeleteThat's very accurately observed. Is it based on pupils that you knew?
"Which today the kiss
Or hiss, pinch and poke" nearly made me cry, it came so close to what I felt as I went home every day in my teenage years. Except that I knew the answer in advance!
It's good to have heard a voice speaking for the me I was then. Thank you.
I read this after a chance encounter with a woman visiting work who loves and writes poetry. I was saying to her how I love reading your poems on the blog and how a few of us share comments. She said as you have said (after Hopper I think) how a poem can say so much and I shared my views about how an image can also do this for me, and in fact I often respond to your poems in images, smells, colour etc. But with this one Sally you have nailed it in words, very powerful.I watched the first episode of that series 'woman' and was reminded of the conscious raising going on in womens groups in the 60's and how wonderful it was for women who had been so isolated in their thoughts and feelings to discover they were not alone. There is a link there somewhere!
ReplyDeleteAs we have all shared before, the power of poetry does come from an image or metaphor or juxtaposition of words which speaks to something from deep inside one person to deep inside another. I've read somewhere 'poetry is the language of the soul'. Baring one's soul and then having another respond with empathy is a privilege and a comfort. The power of this poem comes only partly from my professional experience as a social worker/ teacher. Jude and I have talked about attachment and attachment disorder a great deal and both of us have - like you too Jenny it seems- some personal experience which makes it especially painful.
ReplyDeleteThe poem written next' The very sweetest thing' is a further exploration of the potential in love - especially the mother-child bond,- for pleasure and for pain.