Body memories? Spirit memories? Head Memories? Memories are held somewhere, somehow...whether in plain sight, or "a battered box".
It would'a made more sense To leave me there In the peace of the water And let the sound of your breath Calm me like a breeze. I should'a stayed in the heart of God And listed to the beat, boom, beat Of angels feet dancing. I am not for this place! In his disgrace I am the chance my father took in a drunken stuphor That neither he nor she knew what to make of later. I am the reason she called him, bastard 'n told his mama he was no good And she had ruined him for any woman. He said of her, "bitch, go slow" - And the blow to her belly taught me To steel myself for pain. I can taste her smoke Smell her gin, hear her whispered dream Of "God, let it die" As if I weren't soul within a brief borrowed house. I came into the world, then Eyes wide and able to discern spirits And spirits of a clever sort roamed my room And motioned me wise beyond my day... You can't play having known eternity at birth And truth perched upon the mantel crying. When I am old and of no use to anyone Save nursing home ledgers and vultures for the dead That I have said these things Will cause no warp in collective unconscious... I have seen demons and gods laughing And...the woe of child - stuffed in a battered box Of memory.
This collection of poetry addresses the nature of time, reflections on the natural world, the difficulty of loss,
contemporary social issues and gratitude for life.
I relate so deeply with these powerful words Billye.
Peace,
Bill