from across the pond
uttered a cry for help
-- not for she alone.
her mental health
was delicate
we know that now,
though not necessarily poor.
with friends and money
and killer intellect
she was a trapped soul --
a woman in a world
that would not let her be.
how narrow the confines
of the existence from which she wrote
so much for herself, for me
for humanity.
she contemplated death
-- the only way to escape
these teeth, these organs,
this DNA --
this cell of captivity.
she would not jump
from a tower or bridge.
she walked, breathing steadily,
stones in her skirt pockets
into the sea
with all her power
leaving us irony and symbolism.
her lighthouse sends out
its signal still
round and round and round . . .
wave after wave after wave . . .
and the ocean
keeps beating
like humanity’s
collective
heart,
as we carry the weight
she left behind.
© nan, 2015
[Note: This is written for The Sunday Whirl and Poets United from Whirl words: organs, tower, money, poor, pond, cell, DNA, friends, teeth, bridge, signal, and skirt. It has been far too long since I've attempted a poem. I've been thinking a lot, lately, about how some groups just can't shake their burdens - depending on the time or the place or the prevailing regimes. Women have not had it easy, and some times and places have been or are worst than others. These words reminded me of the brilliant Virginia Woolf, who influenced my early thinking. When her light went out, she left the lighthouse lantern eternally burning, but she left the weight for others to carry. I carry that weight.]
13 comments:
I just wrote a long comment, but I don't think it posted. I will try again. This is an excellent poem, woven masterfully from the Wordle words. It relayed a real situation, told a real story, and carried the reader along that journey of depression. I like the way you also worked Virginia's 'lighthouse' into your poem. We all carry these stones in our pockets at times in our lives, I think.
Walking into the water with stones in your pocket. What forethought that must have taken, and resolve, and depth of pain. There is a deep sadness to that feeling of being trapped in a society that just will not let you be.
It was a gradual realisation which Virginia you meant - which I'm sure was intended. Beautifully written.
This is so beautiful and so tragic..! Excellent write.
so brilliantly done from wordle words...
The Wordle words are so skilfully woven into your piece. Great.
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The words so skilfully weaved into that ultimate sadness of a deliberate suicide.. I really like the lighthouse metaphor.. so good to have her beacon still shining
What a brilliant poem....I loved how you used these words and wove them with Virginia Woolf's story.
What a great poem and in remembrance of Virginia Woolf. Death is sad but if you choose the day what a brave and honest person you are.
A wonderfully written poem about the famous poet. I especially love how the ocean keeps beating "like humanity's collective heart."
What a wonderful homage to Virginia Woolf...and in some strange way perhaps a good weight to be left behind...writing...finding your own place in the world...it's a valuable gift though not always an easy one..
This left me feeling very sorrowful.
The weight of depression can become physical.
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