For the month of April, I am participating in 30 days of #verselove poetry writing with Dr. Sarah J. Donovan's Ethical ELA.
Today's poetry inspiration was by Penny Kittle, who also provided a one-hour poetry webinar. She suggests using a phrase or a line from another poet and writing into this, seeing what surprising story comes up. She shared the poem Elementary by G. Yamazawa. This is a powerful poem and many lines reverberated for me; I wrote into his phrase "how deep the trembles are felt."
Trees of Silence
there’s a space between
lightning and a clap of thunder
that is eerily silent
I’ve gotten used to this
though I still want to hide
lightning and a clap of thunder
that is eerily silent
I’ve gotten used to this
though I still want to hide
it is more rare and ominous
when lightning strikes a tree
one hears an immediate wrenching crack
wood split in two
followed by what feels like
piercing
heavy
overwhelming quiet
before the massive tree topples to the ground
everything reverberates
everyone sees
everyone understands
mystery solved
this is how your silence felt,
me the ground
waiting for
a felled tree
achingly
on top
I need to believe
you had no idea
how deep trembles are felt
you wielded a weapon of
cutting
unending
eviscerating silence
by not speaking to me
did you aim for my heart?
you left me
twisting
terrified
tormented
what did I do?
why is Mommy mad?
how can I fix this
silence
twisting
terrified
tormented
what did I do?
why is Mommy mad?
how can I fix this
silence
I have learned
not to grow
trees of silence
seeds you planted
I try to dig them out of the ground
before they take root
a raw hurting silence
I just know
I just know
I just know
something is painfully wrong
Your poem gives a voice to the hurt of silence. Your twist of not doing the same "Seeds you planted, I try to dig them out of the ground before they take root" and the recognition that something is "painfully wrong" is hopeful and reflective of the fact the pain is impacting the giver and the receiver.
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