Trying to write a poem

0n the death of Seamus Heaney

faint-hope.jpgI am trying to write a poem

because I am sad–

and because

summer is ending-

and because

a poet I love has died.

I am trying to write a poem

because–

as the days grow short

and the nights fall so suddenly-

all my summers-

of innocence and invincibility

are coming to an end again.

As I face the ever expanding sadness

of this moment of my life–

As I face the turning of the season–

I am facing a turning in my soul.

I am longing to mark this moment

with something that will capture

it’s meaning.

I long to write something

to add to the map

of the unknown world.

Something to guide a weary traveller.

Something to put in that corner

where it says

“Here be monsters”

Isn’t that what a poem is?

A map of the soul’s geography?

I am trying to write a poem because

I am not a poet

Not really.

I am just a lost dreamer looking

at summer roll past

and needing to write a poem

to hold my sadness.

So here I sit fingers digging

into the soil of my lost

summers like the poet

who died has taught me to do-

trying to write a poem.

old map engraving

By Lynna G

My name is Lynna Goldhar Smith, or Lynna-G for short. I am a multi-disciplinary artist. living in Vancouver which is part of the unceded traditional and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish First Nations. I paint and write about painting.

8 comments

  1. my Mother is in the last part of her life and our relationship was difficult but I can relate to the loss of all that could have been and was was….truly touched my soul and helped me feel less alone…with my thoughts of my mother…

    Like

  5. clearly there is something amiss with my feed-thingie….

    Seamus and his work are old friends to me as well…a bright light graces the heavens now…

    much love to you, miz Lynna…you are a poet…although you needn’t write a poem to know that you have made a huge impact in this world…

    xo

    Like

  6. I love your voice. Echoing truth, and love. I feel you in this sad place. it haunts my heart and invites me into the dreams of hope and unraveling. thank you for sharing what is real and true and beautiful.

    Like

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