Though I am not really a poet, this is my humble contribution to National Poetry Month
When the sun is high and sure of itself
and the edges between night and day are clear,
when the tithing box is full
and it’s been a good day for the merchants,
on benevolent days like these
the door opens to the light like some
prize from heaven,
open-armed and
welcoming.
But then luck changes
and clouds lie low through the streets
and the city grows sour and foul-faced and thieves
leave the merchants empty-handed,
on dark days like these
the door is a sentry to the gold and brass
the murals and colored glass
and the shy marble Virgin who weeps forgiveness into her
small
white
palm.
copyright 2007-2011 by cathy kozak – all rights reserved
_____
(thanks to beagleinlondon for the image)
* linked to this week’s imperfect prose, One Shot Wednesdays, Week 43, my personal blog and the community blog at She Writes
Great focus for the end – nice way to wrap it up.
Great poem, Cathy!
Doors always speak to me, think they call out to passers-by.
Just observed my first “dervish” a few weeks ago in an accompaniment to an original piece of music played by the Kitchener symphony.
It was amazing, let alone over-powering, like the words of poets can be.:)
Fitting, creative words to accompany the image. I especially like the way you break the poem down at the end with a cool cadence.
That door can be found in every life. The doors that welcome us in and the doors that slam shut in our faces. I am learning very slowly that good can be found as much when one slams as when one opens. But boy is it a painful lesson to learn.
Thank you for painting with words for us Cathy.
Claire x
weeps forgiveness in her small white palm…that rings rather beautiful to me…
Gorgeous.
I would have never thought of a door as anything more than a door, but now i certainly will.
Enjoyed the sweet and gritty edge to this poem.
Wow I never thought of a church like this before. Intriguing!!
Cathy, I didn’t know you were a poet until now.
This poem speaks volumes, and the imagery is vivid. What a gift you have for showing instead of telling.
Cathy, that is just lovely! Love the imagery in this poem! I could literally see “the clouds lie low through the streets!” I hope we’ll get to see more of your poetry in future blog posts!
Great poem.
I always wished I could write poems.
I love the contrasts: light and dark, open or guarded. Beautiful!
It’s always a pleasure, Cathy. I’ve given your blog an award.
http://kenyadwilliamson.blogspot.com/p/my-awards.html
@ Kenya – thanks so much for the Kreativ Blogger award!
@ Caren and Amber – welcome, and thanks for reading and for your kind comments
@ Bella – I too hope to concoct a least a couple more poems, though I don’t really know poetry and am certainly not a poet! I can, however, word-paint pretty well!
@ Debra – thank you for your kind words. In truth I am not a poet, though I’m not too bad in the show-don’t-tell department
@ Kati – I guess every person, place and thing can be known through understanding its opposites
@ honeyhaiku – welcome and thanks for reading. The sweet and gritty, like the light and dark, are indeed ever-present
@ Hollye – objects really do hold the history of both themselves and the world within their fabric
@ Brian – in a way, forgiveness threads the light into the dark
@ Claire – indeed, as the universality of light and dark, good and bad, etc is found in every life, therefore the door must exist in all of us! Thank you for your kind comments
@ dustus – welcome and thanks for reading and yes, the ending pretty much unites the extremes of light and dark
@ Patricia Anne – welcome and thanks for reading. Indeed doors do speak out to passers-by and invite us to straddle the thresholds between worlds. Lucky you, a dervish observer. What music was performed?
@ Old Ollie – welcome. I imagine the ending to unite light and dark through forgiveness
Wonderful poem, and I love the picture as well. Absolutely love the ending, beautifully done!
lovely and sad. very nicely written.
That’s a church door from the creative eyes and mind of a brilliant poet … simply beautiful! Thanks for the visit
Love the ending – it is such a potent image
I beg to differ, you are indeed a poet…and a fine one at that.
Why do you say you are not a poet? You have created a vision in your reader’s eye. You have given joys and sorrows. The flow of the poem was lovely and worthy reading. I think you put too much emphasis on the word and not enough on the feelings that lie inside. Lovely job. Happy One Shot.
@ Katherine – welcome, and thanks so much for putting me straight. In fact I do invest too much in the word *poet*. I imagine my prose to be poetic as I seem to be able to conjure an image and instill an emotion and I guess that is what poetry is about, in part
@ Laura – thanks so much for saying so!
@ marousia – welcome and yes, I agree, the last image of the Virgin is indeed a potent one!
@ PinkLady – welcome and thank you very much for the compliment!
@ Sheba Marx – lovely and sad and just a little bit gritty, I think. Thanks for reading
@ Julie Flanders – there seems to be a consensus on the ending. Thanks for reading
Hi Kathy, you mustn’t say you’re not a poet, for this is quite lovely! Now perhaps you’ll write some poems from May to March as well?
Thanks for stopping by my poetry blog and leaving a comment!
There’s some lovely and very effective imagery here, Cathy, from the opulence of gold and brass and colored glass – to the “sour and foul-faced” fall and the word “thieves” which can mean so much metaphorically.
The beauty of poetry is how expansive the medium is, and how a writer grows as she writes words of prose. Tis lovely, indeed.
Your writing has always struck me as poetic so it’s hardly a surprise to see/hear a poem issue forth. I especially like the allusion to Arabian-night-type tales with all their metaphoric suggestion. You have no idea how reading your work lifts me. Then again, maybe you do.
this was beautiful cathy…wonderful opening lines..When the sun is high and sure of itself.. and then the shy marble Virgin..think we all can relate to both moods..
Not a poet? I beg to differ. This is gorgeous.
this is really beautiful. love the first two lines, and also the ending.
exquisite poetry! (and thanks for stopping by my blog:))
@ melanie and pathoftreasure – welcome and thanks so much for your kind comments
@ Mama Zen – a thousand thanks for your encouragement and thanks for reading
@ claudia – I too am fond of the opening and closing images. Thanks for reading
@ Deborah – a thousand and one thanks, especially for this: “You have no idea how reading your work lifts me”. And how on earth is it that you are able to dig so deftly through to the metaphorical underworld?
@ Brenda – thanks my virtual friend and you’re absolutely right (or is that *write*?), poetry is both expansive and a distillation of sorts. Thanks for this!
@ Deborah – thank you for your kind comments and for your keen eye which always gazes a little deeper
@ vnesdoly – with this encouragement layered carefully into my subconscious, I will most certainly try my hand at another *poem*. Soon. Thanks so much
Lovely poem Cathy! I couldn’t help thinking of my front door. It is doing the exact opposite: closed when the sun shines, open otherwise …tough. So, where is your door?
the shy marble Virgin weeps forgiveness into her
small
white
palm.
LOVED this cathy… you are a poet, sister. keep it up!
and the edges between night and day are clear,
This was my favourite line, although I’m not quite sure. Your words immediately caught me and you held my attention the whole way through. I loved the images but wept a little for the door that did not open to dispense grace when it was most needed.
Cathy, I am shocked, delighted and happy all in the same breath. I didn’t know you had it in you! Of course now we know, you’ll never be off the proverbial hook…
This poem is wonderful both in form and content. I reread it many times and love the picture of the door which reminds me of Cathedral doors in England. The changing moods of the city are picked up so cleverly. The grand finale almost drips to a close: small; white; hand. The great and the small, the Divine and the physical, the spiritual and the earthy. Perfection!
“Not really a poet?” Um, if you aren’t a poet, I don’t know what one is! Your poem is LOVELY
Ha, and you say you aren’t a poet. This was great.
The ups and downs of life have their own unique beauty.
I think this is absolutely stunning.
I think you can safely call yourself a poet. And a really good one at that! Thank you for sharing this beautiful poetry – please can we have some more? xxx
@ Isabelle – thanks for your encouragement my virtual friend and maybe I will try my hand at another poem
@ Jen – thank you!
@ Nessa – welcome and thanks for reading. The ups and downs of life are indeed inevitable and bring with them the essence of who we were, are and might someday become
@ budhaaah – thanks for your encouragement
@ sam – I couldn’t say I know what a poet is! I appreciate your encouragement
@ Elizabeth – yikes, you mean I’m going to have to perform on demand, at high tea and fancy dinner parties and bohemian coffeehouses – LOL! Seriously, I’m honored you took the time to reread this and I thank you for your kind comments
@ alittlebitofgrace – alas, the door may not have opened to sooth the souls of the weary, but the Virgin is ever-present in her mercy and forgiveness. Thank you for reading and I’m thrilled the poem held your inner eye the whole way through!
@ Emily (imperfect prose) – thanks so much for your support and for all the energy you so willingly share with ‘imperfect prose’. I’m grateful…
@ Muriel (MumuGB) – why on earth does your door close in the sunshine and open in the rainy weather?? Does it do this of its own accord? I wouldn’t doubt it, your house seems to have a delightful, albeit mischievous, mind of its own!
This is a very good poem, Cathy. A clear voice, a crescendo, a twist, a poignant ending. Write more poems, please.
@ Clara – thank you for your support and kind comments. I may just try my hand at another poem soon!
wonderful. it read like a story to me and i seem to be drawn to that. the pace was perfect.
@ Monica – welcome and thanks so much for your perspective. I’m not surprised the poem reads like a story, I’m a story-writer first and foremost. Love the photos on your blog…wow!
My favorite writers are poets in prose…and you…as you know…are one of my favorites. This one’s great!!
MMF
Fortune brightens and fades but some things are forever I guess you could say. The poem is well written.
Beautiful, mystical and moving poem Cathy. I think there is a poet in you after all?
Cat,
I love it! Most of my family and my daughter are great poets..I was not blessed with that gift..but I do try and when I do it sounds like “roses are red and I cry with dread because my poems will never be read”….ha,ha,ha….but I do love poetry and thank God that He gave many of you the gift to bring meaning to words in a way that sounds like singing without music. He has blessed you in that way and I’m glad that you took me in on She Writes so I can benefit from all that’s inside of you waiting to come out. The funny part is that I attempted to try something new too and started a new blog telling stories that I grew up with etc. it has to do with a door as well. Its called back door tales by Sabrowney Rae…my great grandmother use to tell stories and she and her parents were slaves. I’m afraid they are not that good but I’m going to try any way. So you have just given me confirmation to just try to do what you feel inside you never know….keep up the great work …you know I’m a fan.
Smooches
RevLa
@ RevLa – thanks so much for your support and I cannot wait to hear about the back door tales of Sabrowney Rae! I’m already in awe of your Radical Women series!
@ Kristen – thank you so much for your kind sentiments and yes, there may just be a poet in me after all…
@ KayefromMaine – very well put. Thank you
@ meaganfrank – I’m truly honored by your sentiments
(Hi Cathy, I don’t want to mess up the story in the current post, so going here to tell you I have given you a Kreativ Blogger award over on mine. No need to do anything with it – as I know, it’s hard when you have a writing blog rather than general blog. It’s the thought that counts!)
Deborah – many thanks for this award! And thank you for the continued brilliance of your blog…
News Flash!! You ARE a poet!!!
Thank you Patricia, I’m thrilled you think so!
i HATE the truthfulness of this poem.
i LOVE the poem.
(and i love forgiveness — ohh, i love forgiveness!)
Thanks Bethany Ann. For me, forgiveness is a heavenly prize, a gentle release, the way to true freedom…