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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Sitting on the Floor

I'm not a poet.  I don't write poetry, rarely read it, never studied it, and the only rules of poetry I know is the 5, 7, 5 count in Haiku.  But as I was sitting in the vet's office this morning, this came to me almost intact.  And since I have no bright ideas for a Wednesday blog (and no time to come up with any), I'm offering this.

I sit on the floor
Of the examining room
With her.
There's a chair,
A hard wooden one.
But there's no room
For her to sit beside me.
And she's too big
To perch in my lap.
So I sit on the floor.

She's afraid.
We’ve been coming here
Every week for many weeks.
But last week
I went away
And left her alone
With these kind strangers.
They put her to sleep
And when she awoke,
Her world was different.

She's afraid.
When she walks,
Things hit her.
Things she cannot see.
She doesn’t understand
That her eye is sewn shut
To protect the inner stitches.
The doctor’s careful work,
Trying to save her eye
So it doesn’t have to be sewn shut
Forever.

She's afraid.
I see it in her trembling,
In the way she pants.
I tell her it’s okay.
Just a re-check today.
He’s just going to look,
I’m not going to leave her.
But my words mean nothing.
She presses against me
Seeking comfort.

She's afraid.
So I sit on the floor
With her.

 
Okay, as I said, I'm not a poet.  I just felt like writing this.  Do you ever get the urge to write something that's not at all your thing?  Different form, different genre?  How does it turn out?

Unwriting progress: From the original 150,000 words down to 110,937. (Did you notice?  I actually squeezed in a little re-write time this weekend.  Finally got under 111,000.)

I'm currently enjoying: Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian

Quote of the day:  A poem begins with a lump in the throat. - Robert Frost

10 comments:

Stacy McKitrick said...

I like it. You gonna share it at tomorrow's meeting?

Linda Leszczuk said...

Hi Stacy. Yes, I was thinking about it, if only because I haven't had anything to share in a while. For that matter, I haven't made it to the last couple meetings but chances look good for tomorrow. See you there?

tauruspete said...

You were telling it like her feels as her can not speak "people talk"

Dru said...

My post disappeared..

I like it.

I write poetry, have two sets registered at Library of Congress, but mostely when I'm uncertain about life.

Maria Zannini said...

Oh, it broke my heart!

How is Brandi doing this week? Is she negotiating her space any better?

And you are a poet. You won my contest, didn't you? :grin:

Linda Leszczuk said...

tauruspete - no, I think if I was telling it like she was feeling it, would have been much shorter.

Lemme outta here!
Lemme outta here!
Lemme outta here!

Linda Leszczuk said...

Dru - Disappearing posts, don't you hate it when that happens.

Thank you.

And tell me more about your poetry. Is it availble to read?

Linda Leszczuk said...

Maria - oh, I didn't want to do that. But if that means you liked it, thank you.

She's still moving slow; kind of spooked, I guess, But she doesn't seem to be in any discomfort and she's leaving the eye alone to the point that we haven't had to put one of those inverted bucket collar things on her. This is a good thing.

Hey, yeah, I did win your contest. I'm not sure what that says about the level of the other entries, but it was fun.

Robert Guthrie said...

I love that you wrote "Sitting on the Floor". I'm going into the living room to sit w/our 11-yr-old golden lab.

Linda Leszczuk said...

Thanks, Robert. For a non-poet, I enjoyed writing it. And I'm certain your sweet lab will love some "sitting together" time.