One afternoon, with both the girls in school,
He took his watercolors in the rain
To paint. The brush had lately been a tool
For paring the dimensions of his pain
To two. His daughters now were nearly grown,
Some ten years' time apart from them had passed.
They hardly understood him as their own,
This stranger-father, home with them at last,
And lost, who barely recognized himself.
And lost, within the home that they had kept
While years had left their mem'ries on the shelf,
And he had missed them all. Some nights, he slept
In Her bed. She was half a world away.
But pain was close, on any given day,
And so he painted -- aching greens and blues,
And garden in the rain soaked summer hues.
For Kim Gamble. Please see his post Watercolour on a Rainy Day.
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Comments
We are miners side by side, and with every swing of the pick, every word we write, we are closer to the colour.
Thankyou db. It's a difficult thing to understand. You state it clearly.
I want to see Kim's painting at the end of your poem!
Wonderful, as usual, DB.
...and if you missed the link to Kim's post, please jump back up to the top here to find it, at the end of the poem.
ladyslipper, thanks. It would not have happened without Kim's very moving post.
Sparking, thank you as well. I think you're talking to Kim though -- the prose and painting were his. And they are indeed quite beautiful.
Kim, thanks. It's hard to describe how I know when something is going to be a poem. Your post announced itself to me immediately. (Of course, the um... subliminal? note to me in the middle of it might have helped?) Thanks for letting me borrow.
Hi anna1. I'm so glad you came by. That sort of brings this set of posts full circle. Yours was very moving.
Linnnn, thanks. It's nice when you just let me know you're there.
AtHomePilgrim, thank you. I'm glad you saw the similarity so early. Kim's post was really exquisite.
Chocolate Moose, thanks. Yes -- trying to make it all better. But Kim's turn, this time.
trilogy, thanks for your note -- I didn't even realize that anna1 had written a post on this, I thought Kim had just been reading her blog long enough to know her story. I found anna1's post. Would have missed it, had you not mentioned it.
Steve: thanks for stopping by! I haven't seen you in a little while. "Wow" is nice to hear, but it's one of those words I feel I have to live up to. I may have to retreat into light verse for a couple of days, to avoid doing so.
Thanks all. Sorry so late to reply. Your servant.