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Fortunately, #haikuforhealing headed up by Mary Lee Hahn has kept me from feeling too overwhelmed. Noticing the beautiful or the banal and framing it in the pattern and tempo of a haiku is good for this busy teacher-mom. Thank You, Mary Lee Hahn!
Right on cue, weather in my neck of the woods has turned from cold to Arctic. Folks all around are talking about being cold....needing a sweater, needing a heater.
This poem popped up in my inbox and I laughed at how on point the title is...then I read it and I saw that it's not at all a funny poem. The Space Heater by Sharon Olds took me from my giggle to that oh, bless my soul, feeling. And, it was good on a Thursday in December.
The Space Heater
On the then below-zero-day it was on,
near the patients' chair, the old heater
kept by the analyst's couch, at the end,
like the infant's headstone that was added near the foot
of my father's grave. And it was hot, with the almost
laughing satire of a fire's heat,
the little coils like hairs in Hell.
And it was making a group of sick noises-
read the rest here...
I received a most spectacular gift yesterday! Michelle Heidenrich Barns has compiled a beautiful collection of poems contributed to her blog, Today's Little Ditty into a published work. The Best of Today's Little Ditty is gorgeous. What a lovely community Poets create. I'm so happy to be part of it.
Have a great week and enjoy the magic of this season, my friends.
The season is busy but poetry friends bring a sense of calm to it. Thank you for sharing today, Linda.
ReplyDeleteThat poem needs more than one look, LInda. I cannot decide exactly who is speaking. Is it a close member of the family who is crying. . .? And his/her family member is seeing the analyst. Or is it one person? Really interesting poem.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely unexpected! She certainly has a way with words! the little coils like hairs in Hell.
ReplyDeleteSorry so late to this post, Linda. Such a heart wrenching poem, beautiful in its sadness. Thanks so much for the book shout out. Wishing you warmth and beauty of the happy kind this holiday season!
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