A sharinghouse of writings created in or started at Big Yellow, a sanctuary for writers and musicians.
Nerissa Nields, owner, teacher, steward
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Things Passed Down
faith
yellow cotton
dresses with
impossibly tiny
stitches
golden bands with
engravings inside
the tendency
to pick up
river rocks
laughter
tears at the
happy as well
as the sad
dark hair
merry eyes
the curve of
a jaw
dimples in the cheeks
a face tipped
to the wind
flat feet
child-bearing hips
a string
of pearls
battenberg lace
a roll top desk
faded photos
and a smile
worth its
weight
in inherited platinum
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1 comment:
melissa, this is a beautiful piece.
obviously a list of traits or things passed down. Love how the first item is "faith".
the poem has a delicate structure, easy to read and i imagine would be stunning to hear out loud.
the short - very short - lines create an almost breathy-ness when reading the piece out loud.
favorite images:
"battenberg lace" is a very great image - i don't really know what that is, but it's more interesting than just "lace" that was handed down.
"inherited platinum..." unusuall. Gold of course would have been the cliche and you avoid this.
"merry eyes" -
this poem is a treasure! thanks for writing it and thanks for sharing it!
Michael
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