Thursday, March 5, 2009

TAKING SHAPE

Merissa Gilbert Garrison



TAKING SHAPE


The sun shines through my molecules,
making little kaleidoscopic designs
on the early morning walls of my room.


I want to be a child of light
and lightness,
I whisper into the stillborn air.


I want to be that lacy rendering
blushing on the blue -
and what moths are drawn to
on old nights of mossy moons.


I want to be that brilliant point
at which you stare, until I
disappear into the soft air
of black firmament.


I want to be the shine
on the wings of
crows - rainbows
on oily plumage.


I want to be the glint on the white
skin of water that slips over
the ancient stones in a stream -
or in your dream.


And, when the time comes -
I want to be the glimmer
you call hope.

28 comments:

Linda S. Socha said...

Yes....
And when the time comes
I want to be the glimmer
you can call hope

Beautiful and needed
I appreciate you
Linda

Karen said...

Beautiful, all the way through -- a child of lightness and of light! Every image you choose here is visible, light-filled, and brilliant. Merissa's painting is gorgeous and suits perfectly. This is one of my favorites.

Anonymous said...

Wanting can be so hard when it remains something asked from another.

Anonymous said...

You are awesome, K! This poem thrills me to my soul. Of course, I love the stanza with the moths and the mossy moon:) These words also blow me away:

"I want to be that brilliant point
at which you stare, until I
disappear into the soft air
of black firmament."

I always get excited when I click your link to come over here, because I know it's going to be an awesome ride. Excellent poem!!

Gordon Mason said...

Paularly like your description of the crows and the astones in the river.

Catherine Vibert said...

Oh K, I can really relate to this beautiful poem. (and to the picture your daughter painted). My favorite stanza
I want to be that lacy rendering
blushing on the blue -
and what moths are drawn to
on old nights of mossy moons.

That makes me think of light fluffy clouds in the day and moons and firelight in the nights. It makes me long for summer.

And you K, are all those things, and a whole lot more.

Bob said...

Amazing... again! Again this one catches me from the first stanza, and the images just keep me moving like I'm the one being passed hand to hand by your words... excellent, Kaye... I love it.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Linda, thanks...I appreciate you, as well!

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Karen, many thanks for that! You're sweet. Glad it is one of your favorites!

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Jason, yes - or asked from the very cosmos itself...thank you!

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Julie, You are a wonder! Thanks for your enthusiasm for my work...it is always very appreciated!

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Hi Gordon, thanks for pointing out favorite lines...and for your nice comment.

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Cat, thank you for your charming remarks and compliment! Yes, I know you can relate. Never fear, summer is just down the road a little!

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Bob, your comments are so interesting. "...the images just keep me moving like I'm the one being passed hand to hand by your words..." You have a lot of style and class, my friend. Thanks for the wonderful comment!

laughingwolf said...

exceptionally well said, klg... thank you

nollyposh said...

~Beautiful~ x

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

I always appreciate your commentary, LW. Thanks for paying me a visit. ;)

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Nollyposh - Coming from one is who so perceptive in all things...I do thank you, very much, for your compliment.

Margaret said...

A beautiful poem K.
The images you created leave me with a nostalgic feeling of wistfullness.

I long to be that child of light too....

I love the stanza:

I want to be the glint on the white
skin of water that slips over
the ancient stones in a stream -
or in your dream.

I just want to read it over and over again....

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Margaret - thank you so much for the flattering remarks. Glad the poem resonated with you.

blue possum said...

Mom, this is such a powerful poem! I can really feel it in my heart!

Loved it!

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Hi, Blue Possum. It is good to feel a poem in your heart. I love when that happens to me. Thank you so much. You made my day! <3

christopher said...

Taking Winged Shape

That I should want this
thing with more than I ever
could gather from hills,
the grassy long sweep
of wind washed blades and flowers,
white starred stalks among
the green green old hills
of the far planet behind
my flight. That I should
want so much from this
sky into which I now go,
why I learned to fly.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Christopher - thank you for that wonderful companion poem. You are a talented poet, with a varied and remarkable range.

trooping with crows said...

I've been waiting patiently for this, my favorite poem! I have most of this one memorized, and recite it to myself when the occasion calls for it.
Amazing how you've described light in so many variations...shine, a glint, a glimmer, etc. This one has always blown me away. (I guess that is why I felt the need to illustrate it!) You are so visual, Mom. You always give us readers something to see.

RachelW said...

This is absolutely gorgeous. That first stanza called me in, and I wasn't disappointed.

Sarah Hina said...

I want to be all those things, too. I just didn't know it until now.

It's interesting to me that most of these "shapes" are transitory. Even in our individual wants, we recognize the human desire to be universal in some sense. To be the everything, in this one life.

I really loved this one, K. Well, okay, I love all of your poems. ;) I'm almost at a loss for praising them, because they always leave me in awe. Just profoundly beautiful.

Linda S. Socha said...

Loved Sara's comment. It says it all
Linda

joaquin carvel said...

i share everyone else's enthusiasm for this. it is brilliant piece of poetry.

i was reading it as very winsome, but "the stillborn air" caught me after a few reads, and i began to see it differently - almost like this "I" is slowly willing her own life back into her by drawing it from the light around her, the moments and memories it captured - which may not be anything you intended at all - but being able to read (and be awed by) it from two disparate angles is extraordinary.

(and - as always - merissa shines.)

Dave King said...

The concept behind this was fresh and tantakising.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Trooping with Crows - Many thanks, Merissa. You are quite the one who gives us great visuals in image form. Thanks for going along with me on this.... <3

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Hi Rachel, Glad you found something in this poem to which you could relate. Thanks for the kind remarks.

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Sarah, I appreciate your very incisive analysis. Without effort, you extract the most profound meanings. I like that - "wanting to be the everything in this one life." Astute, my friend. Thank you for those kind words. They mean so much to me.

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Linda, thank you very much.

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Joaquin, You have really hit upon the concept of the poem. How cleverly you picked up on "stillborn air". Yes, the "I" drawing life from the light around her - being reborn in light. Becoming "enlightened." Being hopeful and being light for others who need her. Yes, I intended all of that. Many thanks for the wonderful critique. I am always anxious to hear your reflections. Thanks, my friend.

I appreciate you acknowledgement of Merissa's work. She is a fine artist, who lends her time and talent to me so lovingly and willingly. Thanks, Joaquin.

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David - I thank you for the comment on the poem. It is very complimentary.

Aniket Thakkar said...

K, It was enchanting. You cast a spell with your words that somehow makes you have tha talk to your inner self, that you were avoiding for so long. So many things, I wanted to be to achive. So many things I have achieved, but never stopped in life to cherish them.

I love to stare at the 'old mossy moon' it seems tantalisingly close... yet so far.

Beautifully written K.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Aniket - How very kind your words. I am sure that you have achieved so much in your life. I know you are a wonderful writer, you have a great sense of humor - and you are philosophical. You seem to love life and all it has to offer.

Yes, that big old moon is spectacular, isn't it? Talking about casting spells...

Thank you for stopping by, Aniket. I am always glad to see you here. :)

sarah said...

I've been browsing your weblog here and saying wow at the end of every post and so I'm just going to stop here and write it down for you. Wow.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Hi Sarah - Welcome to Old Mossy Moon. Thanks so much for your "wow" - it truly is appreciated. I hope you will stop in again, anytime. ;)

I will stop by your place.