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a time-worn photograph
sitting on the mantel
gathering dust....
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You've given us a glimpse into the depth of life's soul, the message that it is more than our own present moments, it is all inclusive, of every moment, all going together into the future of the Yet-To-Be!
I tried to write much more, but for some ignorant reason this website cuts off at will, deleting everything. I love this poem Susan! ! !
This covers me like a soft blanket of smooth melancholy, sweet and warm, yet somehow sorrowful.
PS. Thank you, Soran, for those 10's looking so big-eyed at me and for thinking of this poem so well you put it on your fav shelf
Part 2- - Soran, reading your comment makes my poem look so much better to me! ! ! ! ! I know I sat here looking at the photographs taken when they were in high school and wondered what they were thinking and if they ever thought they would be looking into a room where their daughter sat missing them so badly.
Part 1- - Soran! ! ! Has anyone ever mentioned that your comments are breathtakingly poetic all by themselves? Well, they are. Makes me wonder if when you are talking to people in a pleasant everyday conversation that women start to swoon over a poetic turn of phrase you might add when you say hello... how are you... :) Thank you so much for delving deep into my poems- you make me feel like I can write poetry much better than I think I write poetry.
first part I think this beautiful and deep poem is not only shedding the light on the memory by going backward and showing nostalgia for the past, but rather it is a true spiritual alienation of the poet. Through this poem, she draws the vast distance between the calm, authentic past with the fast and lifeless present, here we can feel with two pictures of the poet’s psychological state,
second part The meaning is embodied in comparing the past with the present by describing the photos. here we find amazing Poetic images, important and very rare, worth reading again and again, here the poet shares the theme of the poem with every reader, because we all have sweet and bitter memories with the past, so that I rate it with a big 10++ and on to my list
the dusty picture from a long long time ago sitting forgotten on the mantel whispering its stories to the empty room singing softly its songs of love and life into the night
except painted in black-and-white words etched into lines of the old faces and captured forever in the hopeful eyes of the young .
Smoky, thank you, thank you, thank you! What a spine-tingling poetic thing to say- -" " Like sitting alone in your living room, and spotting a ghost on the couch, smiling warmly at you" - makes me want to go write a poem, you fire-starter you!
Awesome poem. Sincerely, this is fantastic. Looking at old photographs of people you've never meet is so intriguing, mysteriously thought provoking. Like sitting alone in your living room, and spotting a ghost on the couch, smiling warmly at you...
This is so true as time flies by quickly we must grab that scrap of time as it goes. Very nice, Susan!
Thank you, Marilym. I keep trying to net time but it's an agile and fleeting thing :)
Susan, amazing! This reminds of Margaret Atwood. I think the poem is A Picture of Me, or maybe a Photograph of Me. Your verse goes straight to myfavourites..
MJ, tis good to hear your comments on this piece- you make me feel it just might have a tinge of universality about it. Thank you.
Hardly anyone cares for an old, faded photograph! But your poetic sensitivity has been roused by it and you wish to know who those forgotten ancestors are! Once we disappear from the face of the Earth, we are forgotten soon. Sometimes we might leave some memories with a photo. But eventually the photo also gets shrouded in anonymity! I can visualize this time worn, dusted photograph on the mantel. Poetry has the power to create lucid word pictures.10 on 10 Susan!
Valsa, you are such a sensitive and highly educated member of PH and bit only are you a spectacular poet, you bring that fine and talented mind to bear as you comment on other PHers writings, Thank you, thank you, thank you for responding in a big way to this. You deserve tens too! ! !
Painted in Black and White words! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.
p.s. i rarely return to a poem's page, so i rarely would see here any response to my comment, unless it is sent in a message to me. ;) bri
I will continue on the path I have chosen from the beginning- -to respond to comments with the reply box. I respond to everyone who comments on my poems- I feel it is a courteous thing to do plus they can see their response and mine at the same time! Works for 99% of PH
You must be psychic to " read the picture" ! ! BUT THIS: " captured forever in the hopeful eyes of the young" ... seems to say or at least imply that someone DOES look at AND translate the expressions in the photo to words. well, 'these days' many of " the young" see things others don't...when " the young' are " on drugs" ! ! ! ha ha. ok, let me have a look at T P P in Words. bri :)
Absorbing and immersive work, photos are ghosts of what we were, capturing a person in a moment of time like a relic in amber. When we die all we leave are jailed reflections.
I agree- -although sometimes I think I see an expression in their eyes that is saying he knew his time was going to be short or in her eyes that she did her best even though she failed.
A marvelous poem! I have given it five stars and added it to my favorites. Countless times I have seen old photographs and wondered about the people in them and the untold stories that they could have shared.